Zawyeh Gallery presents Elusive Territories, a thought-provoking exhibition that arrives amid a period of regional turmoil. Moving beyond the rigid lines of cartography, the showcase explores Palestine as an emotional and psychological space, a homeland defined by memory rather than borders. It brings together a distinguished roster of 15 Palestinian artists, ranging from names like Nabil Anani, Sliman Mansour, Samia Halaby and Kamal Boullata to contemporary voices such as Yazan Abu Salameh and Rana Samara. Together, they navigate the intersections of exile and identity, offering a collective narrative shaped by both the pain of dispossession and a steadfast sense of belonging.
The title itself speaks to a sense of place that is often unreachable. “The title reflects this sense of place as something deeply felt yet often unreachable, fragmented or remembered rather than fully possessed,” explains gallery director Ziad Anani. By treating Palestine as an internal landscape rather thana static map, the exhibition highlights how memory becomes a sanctuary for the exiled. A characteristic of this showcase is the use of abstraction as a primary visual language. Abstraction allows artists to speak about their homeland in ways that are not limited by direct representation; it removes fixed borders and opens a wider emotional and visual field, allowing the work to speak through gesture, texture, colour and atmosphere,” Anani notes.
Within the gallery, these conceptual themes are translated into the physical for the viewer. In Samia Halaby’s Evening in the Desert, “memory holds a moment of serenity with the sunset over the hills of Palestine and the Jordan Valley,” observes Anani. This contrasts with the intricate, often overwhelming reality of displacement seen in Bashir Makhoul’s Skein, which “evokes the complexity of exile through dense, layered patterns that suggest attachment, fragmentation and the persistence of place.”
Even the act of travelling through the land is reimagined as a psychological journey in Hosni Radwan’s The Way to Jericho, where“ memory becomes a place of return, where the artist remains surrounded by familiar landscapes and the road itself becomes a carrier of belonging,” says Anani.
By bridging generations, the exhibition highlight show the concept of home evolves. Despite different lived experiences, art acts as a vital space for reflection, memory and human connection during times of crisis. “Art cannot replace justice or resolution, but it can preserve what is at risk of being erased. It can hold memory, affirm identity and create a space where grief, resilience and belonging can still be expressed and shared,” emphasises the curator. Ultimately, Elusive Territories serves as a reminder that the struggle for Palestine persists through the enduring power of the arts, inviting visitors to move through a landscape where memory is felt. Elusive Territories is on show until 30 June at Zawyeh Gallery, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai. Learn More
Originally published in the May 2026 issue of MOJEH Magazine. Subscribe here
