GRIMM presents Gaza Apollo, an exhibition of new work by Rosalind Nashashibi. This is Nashashibi’s first solo exhibition in the city since her presentation at the National Gallery, London (UK) in 2020.
In 2013, a Palestinian fisherman (Joudat Ghrab) in Gaza spotted what looked like a badly burnt arm coming out of the sand on the seabed. He had discovered a life-sized, ancient Greek statue of Apollo. One finger was removed for testing; he was hoping for gold, but it turned out to be bronze. Having initially been put up for sale on eBay, it was soon seized by the Gaza authorities, and its whereabouts are now unknown to outsiders. The only existing images all seem to have been taken in one room, and show the magnificent sculpture lying on a foam mattress with bed sheets emblazoned with Smurfs, as men stand or crouch around it. Or, it stands surrounded by the same men who reverently place hands on its head and shoulders as if to receive its power. Five of the paintings in Nashashibi’s solo show depict this deity, and the men who take care of it in an unorthodox manner.