Mohammed Qryqa is a 12-year-old painter from Gaza. Despite his young age, his artworks receive a lot of attention and praise from much older artists and the public. This August, Mohammed was on a tour in Tunisia. He was invited to different cities to present his work. “This doesn’t mean I forget the issues and concerns of my people in Gaza. I’m in Gaza forever,” he said on his Facebook page. Valentina Primo writes how MBC News called him the Arab Picasso, but Mohammed rejected the title. “Picasso is an artist with his own identity and his own style,” he explained, “and I want to be known as Mohamed Qryqa.”
He also said being famous feels like breaking down walls, stating: “If I get to cross over, it will be a sign that the wall dividing the Palestinian lands could begin to be broken”. His biggest wish is to talk about his life, Gaza and Palestine, through his paintings – “I dream of telling the world about Palestine and its people, its prisoners, its children. Foreigners do not understand our language but they can understand us through painting.”
© Yaser Murtaja & Rushdi Sarraj/Baraka Bits
© Yaser Murtaja & Rushdi Sarraj/Baraka Bits
© Yaser Murtaja & Rushdi Sarraj/Baraka Bits
© Yaser Murtaja & Rushdi Sarraj/Baraka Bits
© Mohammed’s facebook page
© Mohammed’s facebook page
For more, go to Baraka Bits, and visit Mohammed’s facebook page.
