In a refugee camp far from the sea, Palestinian artist Alaa Albaba paints fish that dream of home
Wandering the narrow alleyways of Al Amari Refugee Camp in Ramallah, you might not expect to find a surrealist art gallery. But this is where acclaimed Palestinian artist Alaa Albaba has his studio. His subject is the fish, an unlikely motif for an artist working within a dusty refugee camp in the West Bank. The only sea here is the Dead Sea , where no fish can survive. “My story begins when I…
In the Al Amari Refugee Camp in Ramallah, Palestinian artist Alaa Albaba creates a surrealist gallery featuring painted fish that dream of returning home. Living in this West Bank camp, Albaba feels his connection to the sea, represented by the Dead Sea, is not adequately portrayed in his surroundings. Born in the coastal village of Lydd, Albaba's family was displaced in 1948 and has since lived in refugee camps, which remain a central part of Palestinian political identity.
Despite the camps' challenges, Albaba's art focuses on potential futures rather than past symbols, such as the olive tree or the Dome of the Rock. His paintings explore themes of displacement, uncertainty, and the camp's walls, while also delving into his personal relationship with the environment. Albaba draws inspiration from a tin of sardines, symbolising the cramped conditions in the camps, and has carried his fish art beyond the refugee camp, even painting murals illegally in Israel.
His work, known as The Route of the Fish, depicts Palestinian exile and migration, offering a visual geography of displacement without painting the traditional symbols of Palestinian identity.
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