Homage to the Martyrs
"Palestine: The Exodus and the Odyssey" is a collection of 19 large murals painted by Ismail and Tamam Shammout from 1997 to 2000. The paintings illustrate, in chronological sequence, the plight of the Palestinian people since the creation of Israel in 1948 - from exodus and destitution to reconstruction, struggle, and reassertion of their rights. It is the artists' impression as witnessed and personally experienced.
As we enter the modern period, the paintings shift away from a narrative mode to a more symbolic one. In "Homage to the Martyrs," the red canvas represents a sea of blood, melting into a carpet of roses, with women dressed in white, their dresses inscribed with names of massacres and martyrs.
