Artist’s paintings of Jerusalem depict time before occupation

AMMAN — Minimal details of human contours are what characterise the most recent work of a veteran painter Ihsan Bandak, titled "Palestine and Civilisation", recently shown at Hotel Jerusalem in Amman.

The series of paintings depict everyday life in 19th century Jerusalem, its gardens and orchards, narrow streets, staircases and marketplaces as well as a few passers-by that are going about with their business and thoughts, while in the background there are familiar landmarks.

Some of these ancient quarters remain intact, while others are affected by both urban development that has occurred in recent decades, as well as the Israeli policy of house demolition and ethnic cleansing of the Arab communities.

Like from a time machine, a spectator can observe the traditional life of Jerusalemites who came from different ethnic backgrounds, and followed various creeds and customs.

According to the author, the process was initiated by studying the archival material related to the latest stages of the Ottoman rule in the historical Palestine.

"Two years ago I began researching historical photos of Jerusalem and Palestine, and started with 200 sketches drawn by pencil and ink," Bandak told The Jordan Times.

Buildings and humans merged together forming an unbreakable bond while blue colour represents the life, the painter stressed. His art restores the physical existence of long gone generations, trees, animals and historical monuments with emotions embedded from the artist who himself was a refugee from Bethlehem.

Bandak's favourite paintings are panoramas of the Old City with its walls, cupolas of the Holy Sepulture Church, the Dome of the Rock and the Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalena on the Mount of Olives.

Talking about current difficulties, he said: "It's not easy to get a visa and to tour all these sites as the Israeli administrative measures are deliberately complicated for Arabs who want to visit their relatives and friends in Palestine." 

Bandak incorporated Arabic texts into his paintings that are messages of love, relations between neighbours and every day notes.

The main concern of the painter is to convey the idea of the Arab Jerusalem to younger generations, particularly Palestinians who have lived in diaspora.

“They shouldn’t forget the land and the heritage of Palestine and parents should educate their children about the beauty of its sites and importance of Jerusalem’s shrines,” Bandak noted, adding that “unfortunately, new generations don’t know all these stories told from a first-hand experience”.

“I’m sorry about that, but the mission of the art is to bridge these gaps between the past and modernity,” he concluded.