Traces of Nakba

During the Nakba, or ‘catastrophe’ in English, which culminated in 1948, Palestinians were forced out of their homes and villages to make way for the inhabitants of the newly established state of Israel. This kind of violent displacement is considered ethnic cleansing.

Between 2021 and 2023, Palestinian photographer Ahmad Al-Bazz (b. 1993) visited dozens of Palestinian towns emptied by early Zionist settlers since the Nakba. With his photographs, Al-Bazz aims to reestablish 1948 as the entry point into discussing Palestine-Israel. A selection of these photographs is now exhibited in Helinä Rautavaara Museum.

The Nakba of 1948 must still be spoken in the present tense, as long as forcible transfer and displacement still threaten the Palestinians who survived the early stages of ethnic cleansing, most of whom live under Israeli military rule. Similarly, colonialism is often seen only as a part of history, although its mechanisms continue to influence the world around us, including our lives.

The exhibition is produced in collaboration with Ahmad Al-Bazz.