Ayat

IG: @Zeitoon_studio

TITLE: Carrying Cherished Citrus, 2025 ($100)

MEDIUM: Digital, Framed (20x24)

DESCRIPTIONS:
It's a challenge carrying weight during your journey. Logically a person can't carry a heavy pot with a fruitful plant on their own for an extended period of time. Yet, humans repeatedly show they can surpass ‘logical’ limitations through their persistence and resilience. 

A Palestinian woman burdened yet steady, carrying the weight of a  growing fruitful orange tree. While the tree is facing straight reclaiming space, time, & identity. The woman represents persistence, rebirth, and the quiet strength of carrying one's history. There’s a tension between heaviness and hope, struggle and reclamation. Palestine was revolutionary, long before the occupation. Palestine imported 85% of the oranges being shipped globally. Israel occupied the orange groves and labeled them as their own. Palestine was filled with culture, life, and progress. Through the years, the land and its residents have been dehumanized and stripped away from everything they held dear. Our history if heavy and we will carry that weight with pride and persistence. 

BIO/ARTIST STATEMENT:
Ayat Hasan, is a Palestinian artist. Hasan creates works to communicate themes of intersectional communities, queer expression, and the Palestinian experience. Hasan is a multimedia artist focusing on painting, graphic design, and animation. Hasan’s work focuses on providing insight into the injustices and experiences Palestinian Queer folks face to invite the audience to reflect on their perspectives.

Ayat Hasan takes an approach to their cultural and historical background as a means to express contemporary issues and themes. Hasan enjoys researching historical paintings and connecting them to current problems because as commonly seen, history repeats itself. They focus on connection to their community and providing a space for future generations to explore different forms of expressions. They value the connection of community as a sense of resilience. 

 Their work intertwines the history of Palestine, using the familiar framework of fairytales  to shed light on the realities faced by a community struggling for survival. The challenges become allegories of the Palestinian experiences. Their work is rooted in community, individuality, and the Palestinian experience. While rooted in a familiar fairy tale, the story is a powerful commentary on the resilience, connection, and hope that characterize the Palestinian Experience. The intention behind this peace is to allow The audience to gain perspective on the realities often diminished