14 Jun 2008

A View to Peace

In June 2002, Israel began building a massive wall through Palestine's West Bank, a wall designed to physically separate Palestinians and Israelis from one another. Falsely termed a "security barrier" by the Israeli military, the Wall is part of the largest land grab Israel has launched since it occupied the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem in 1967. November 9th has been set as the “International Day Against the Wall” to coincide with the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.


We just discovered that Arofish, a stencil artist currently residing in London, has - & to our great surprise & enjoyment-- dropped by Beirut & left his marks on the city's walls.
Arofish came to graffiti from a background of political activism, which is why, as he says, "doing art in Palestine and Iraq was for him a sort of natural extension of both elements."



Between December '03 and March '04, Arofish spent 3 months traveling through Iraq and Palestine, painting on the walls and generally making a right mess, to the occasional annoyance of the occupying forces. Then in August '06 he perpetrated more aesthetic travesties around Lebanon.
Read his interview for Visual Resistance to know more about this thoughtful graffiti art.

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