Biography
Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara used his work, often produced with a sawdust-and-glue relief technique, to decry the violent suppression of his Palestinian homeland and promote international solidarity worldwide. Depicting everyday life, weddings, social groups and traditional celebrations, his work also serves as a valuable record of an endangered tradition and culture.
Zarara worked in the maintenance department of the Jordanian Air Force briefly before joining the Palestinian Liberation Organisation in the late 1960s where he developed his sawdust-and-glue relief technique.
His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions, including Sharjah Biennial 12, Sharjah Art Foundation (2015); Here and Elsewhere, New Museum, New York (2014); Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara, Sharjah Art Foundation (2014); Jean Genet–Act 2, Prisoners of Love, Nottingham Contemporary, UK (2011); Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara Retrospective, Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman (2011); Sentences on the Bank… and Other Activities, Darat al Funun, Amman (2010); Mahfouza’s Olive, Dar Al Anda, Amman (2006); and Resistance Art, Philadelphia University, Amman (2004).
Zarara was born in 1933 in Hebron, Palestine. He passed away in 2020 in Amman.
SAF participation:
Sharjah Biennial 12 (2015).
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