Artist Uses Henna to Bring Palestinian Landscapes Back to Life

Fatima Al-Ghoul, a 36-year-old Palestinian painter, has decided to use henna for something that doesn’t involve tattooing. Instead, she created a series of paintings of historic sites in Jerusalem and other Palestinian territories, a job she’s been doing for the past eight years.

“Henna is part of our culture, which is why I chose to draw these Palestinian cities using it. Another reason was the color of henna is the closest color to mud. I specifically drew Palestinian cities and refugee camps because we are working on a project to make an album about the Palestinian cause,” Al-Ghoul explained to Reuters.

This is not just another hobby, the Gazan painter takes these Henna paintings very seriously. In fact, she works closely with Suheil Atta-Allah, who supervises her project and markets her paintings, which are sold for between USD 500 to USD 2,000 each.

One of the difficulties I face is physical exhaustion, it is really exhausting to sit and keep painting for four to five hours a day. I also face difficulties in obtaining henna. It is not always available in the market. The constant electricity cut also has an impact on how long it takes me to finish the painting,” the painter added. Four years from now, Fatima is planning to set her gallery entitled ‘Earth and Henna’ to shed light on the plight of Palestinians and their cause.

WE SAID THIS: This is beautiful.