Expulsion from the Riviera. Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 58 x 45 cm| Year: 2025.
Explosion from the Riviera is an allegory for how people become victims of borders and wars- especially in the Middle East, one of my main sources of inspiration and interest. It is a region where territorial changes have not ceased since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. With these constant changes to the map driven by power struggles, human beings of all ages and
backgrounds continue to become victims.
Painted in oil on stretched canvas, this work is part of a series exploring forced migration, displacement, and land dispossession- situations in which people are denied the luxury of forming memories and bonds with places due to constant evacuations and the compulsory movement imposed by trauma-inducing conflict zones.
It is titled Expulsion from the Riviera because many people who are dispossessed, unhoused, or forcibly evacuated live on lands rich in minerals and natural resources. In such cases, capitalistic greed- often allied with despotic political power- becomes a totalitarian force that reshapes territories and disrupts people’s relationship with their spatial surroundings, all for the sake of gaining full access to the riches beneath their feet.
It is, of course, evident that the title is a direct reference to Gaza, whose coastline is rich in oil. In the midst of an American-funded genocide, the Trump administration promoted the idea of creating a riviera and tourist resorts on the rubble of dead Palestinian children and Gazans, while proposing the evacuation of the survivors- without consulting them or involving them in this vision. This is the tragedy of conflict: the wretched and powerless are left only with suffering between borders and checkpoints, their fate reduced to a security clearance or a stamp that determines their transfer to the next refugee camp.
Moreover, at the moment of evictions, dispossession, or expulsion, we tend to think only of packing the most important or essential items to keep a belly full and a body warm. For adults, this may include warm blankets, water, canned food, or a family photo album; for children, it is often their cherished toys. In this painting, the father appears weighed down by the load of necessities, highlighting the struggle of men during conflicts, as they are both targets and central to the survival of those who depend on their suffering, sacrifice, and strength for a chance at life.
For the child in the painting, although he appears unhappy with the situation, he chooses to carry not his shoes, but a toy bird: the hoopoe. This particular bird carries significant symbolism in religious texts, representing truth- a quality often blurred in conflict zones, much like the suffering of the people living there. Therefore, this painting not only advocates for the right to life and housing for the victims of the many “rivieras” around the world, but it also serves as a call to speak truth to the powers that perpetuate their suffering.