The Land and I by Nabil Anani - Abu Dhabi Art 2024

The Palestinian landscape served as a key source of inspiration for Anani throughout his artistic career spanning five decades. During this journey, the natural landscape in Palestine has undergone radical changes within the context of ongoing Zionist colonial attempts to dominate the Palestinian land. Therefore, Anani’s work is a visual documentation of the Palestinian natural landscape over the years, countering the continuous attempts to obliterate and alter the Palestinian topography.

The chronology of Anani’s artworks reveals the accumulative stages of his journey, underlining the development of his study of color and form, and his varied experiments with techniques, including the use of organic materials from the land. It also demonstrates his ongoing experimentation with textures, compositions, and repetition of elements on the surfaces of his paintings. His landscape artworks present a vision that stems from his fascination with the Palestinian land, its valleys, hills, and trees, particularly the olive tree, a recurring theme over the past two decades. Through his works, Anani seamlessly takes us on a journey that transitions between the historical and contemporary aspects of the land while also envisioning Palestine as a dream, and Palestine as a future.