APOLLO MAGAZINE
By Martin Gayford
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| Dia Al-Azzawi (b. 1939) |
After the Palestinian fighters left Lebanon, the Phalangists had their opportunity to take revenge on old people, women and children. I have a lot of Palestinian friends, some artists and writers, and I knew those camps. Within two days, up to 3,500 people were killed. So this work had a moral side: to defend unarmed people with no voice.’ Dia Al-Azzawi (b. 1939) is talking about his huge ink and wax-crayon drawing, Sabra and Shatila Massacre 1982–3 (1982–83), which, since Tate acquired it in 2014, has become one of his best-known works. It is, unsurprisingly, a sombre piece – executed almost entirely in monochrome with occasional touches of brown and red, the latter perhaps standing for blood. [
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| Sabra and Shatila Massacre 1982–83 (1982–83), Dia Al-Azzawi. Tate, London. Courtesy Tate, London; © Dia Al-Azzawi |
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| Gilgamesh I (1966), Dia Al-Azzawi. Courtesy Mathaf; © Dia Al-Azzawi |
