In this episode of the Gallery Girl podcast we are joined by Malak Mattar, a Palestinian artist from Gaza based between Palestine and London. She creates the most beautiful dreamlike paintings and is also the author of Sitti’s Bird.

Born in Gaza, Malak says she thinks about her childhood in two phases: before and after 2008. “This year changed the course of my life and the entire population of the Gaza Strip because it was the beginning of a series of attacks”, she explains, “Before 2008 I remember a very beautiful childhood. I grew up in a big family. We used to live a peaceful and beautiful life…when I was little, a lot of things were normal. We never thought about electricity cuts or trouble traveling, but in 2008 while I was filling the paper for my final exams, we were pushed all of a sudden to leave the classrooms. And that was terrible because it was just all of a sudden an emergency situation.” She describes seeing helicopters and warplanes marking the beginning of a new era. “Our vocabulary as kids started to change”, she says, “And in 2014 art started as an urge after surviving the third Israeli attack.” Malak’s neighbour was killed brutally by an Israeli missile, an event that traumatised her in a way that led her to believe her own life was at risk. “I couldn’t speak about it. Speaking about your emotions in these critical times is such a luxury”, she explains, “Who are you to speak about it when everyone is going through what you are going through…that was the beginning of using my art as a way to discharge this negative energy and feeling.” Malak has kept painting ever since. 

Despite this though, Malak’s paintings appear colourful and uplifting, often her figures look as though they are hugging each other. “I think the hugging comes from the human connections that I grew up around”, explains Malak, “It’s also how people and – especially in times of attacks – families come very close to each other.” Her work is also full of female figures, something that Malak says came very naturally and unconsciously. “Growing up in a very conservative society, men and women would not gather that often”, she says, “I grew up surrounded by girls and women. I was mostly raised and taught by women.” 

Malak’s art also has a dreamlike quality, she explains that this feeling started while she was studying Political Science and International Relations in Istanbul during the pandemic. “I just wanted to paint something that is very tranquil, very peaceful, and that would bring me joy every time that I look at it”, she says, “So I started this series of sleeping women. It’s simply a woman sleeping, and I used patterns that are inspired by different tapestries from different parts of the world.”

Now though, Malak is about to study for a Master’s in painting at Central Saint Martins in London. “The fact that I studied political science, it made my way of thinking more universal”, says Malak, “It’s important with the work I do, it’s important for the work to be driven from a very personal place but also in a universal sense. I do believe that as Palestinians and as colonised people, we can find parallels with other causes and other communities.” This follows a recent exhibition in London hosted by the Garden Court Chambers. “It felt like not just the opening of a show but also an opening of a new phase of my life”, she says.

In addition to her paintings, Malak is also the author of a book called Sitti’s Bird, inspired by a trip in the US where she noticed many children’s books on Palestine, but not from the Gaza Strip. “The inner child in me felt unhappy with how we are not represented and our stories are not being told beyond the tragedy that you see in media and TV”, she says, “So I started thinking about an autobiographical book that I wrote and illustrated about my life.” Malak dedicated the book to Palestinian children. “I wanted to bring Gaza to this new industry because in the Gaza Strip we have over 1 million children and 90% of them have depression, suffer from PTSD and live their entire life under blockade”, she adds. The book was positively reviewed by the New York Times and Malak explains how happy she is that children love the book and teachers are bringing them to the classroom. 

Right now, Malak is preparing for a tour in the US and is preparing for a show in Hawaii in October. And, as for the future, she is hoping to be able to help support artists with funding for their university tuition. “A lot of scholarships prioritise many other programmes but not art and I struggled with this personally”, she says, “I would really love to be in the philanthropic sector to promote any idea that would make it easier for students to study art and grow as artists, because I do feel like art is more marginalised than other courses.” 

You can find Malak’s art on Instagram here, her book here and her prints here

Malak’s show at Apuni Space in Hawaii will run between 20 and 22 October