In this mural, Vera Tamari revisits Tale of a Tree (2002), an installation of small ceramic olive trees she created during the Israeli incursion of the West Bank as a tribute to the olive tree and as a statement of protest. Tale of a Tree decries the deliberate and systematic daily destruction and uprooting of hundreds of olive trees perpetrated by the Israeli military machinery and the illegal settlers. To the artist, as to all Palestinians, the olive tree is not merely a botanical species in the landscape; rather, it is a living and cherished being who stands steadfast as a defiant witness to the history and culture of the land. It is a faithful symbol of rootedness, belonging, survival and abundance.
In Guardians of the Land, the artist returns to the theme of the olive tree as she parallels the fallen trees, scattered like corpses across the Palestinian landscape, with the agonizing scenes of death and carnage taking place in the current war in Palestine. To her, there is a sorrowful affiliation, even a kinship, between those trees which continue to be brutally axed, burnt and uprooted and the scores of fallen martyrs who perish daily on their cherished land. For Vera Tamari, this mural, despite all the anguish, pain, and loss it elicits, is not merely a memorial to those who have sacrificed their lives, neither is it a tribute to the “martyred” trees. Rather, it is a statement celebrating life and hope in an honorable future for Palestine.
Stretching over a 28 -meter wall, the trees find hope in their new “home” here, in a composition suggestive of the smooth hills of Palestine. Their colors simulate the earthy hues of the land and the brilliant blues of the Mediterranean.
The 3,288 ceramic trees in this installation represents only a symbolic number, that is nowhere near the officially registered 2.5 to 3 million trees that have been violently uprooted and destroyed since the beginning of the occupation in 1967 to the present day.
This work was brought to life with the participation of the young artists, Rama Al-Ashqar and Marah Farhat, and a group of student volunteers and staff members of the Palestinian Museum.
Vera Tamari, Guardians of the Land, 2024. 3,288 ceramic trees, and water-based emulsion, 27.5 x 6.3 m.
Tree measures: variant
Vera Tamari
A visual artist born in Jerusalem, and an academic, Islamic art historian, and curator. She is renowned for her ceramic works, sculptures, and conceptual art. Tamari has actively contributed to promoting arts and culture within Palestinian society. She taught at Birzeit University for over two decades, specializing in Islamic art and architecture and art history. Her works have been widely exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across Palestine, the Arab world, and internationally.