In a glass-fronted gallery in Highgate, London, passersby can't help but stop to take in the arresting wall of work by Palestinian artist Malak Mattar and British political artist Peter Kennard . "Occupation is so ugly, but the way we are trying to survive is through beauty," says Gazan-born Malak, whose work has recently shifted from documenting the dark days of atrocities to connecting with the spirit of her land. The 26-year-old artist explains to The New Arab : "I got to the moment where I just want to make something that grounds me after all this devastation. "Grief makes you different, makes you see the world differently, makes you appreciate things differently," she adds.
Malak's respect for olive trees — symbols of Palestinian resilience — reflects her people's connection to their homeland. "Olive harvest is the most important season in Palestine, something we really treasure — we respect the olive tree as a treasure. Some families would plant a tree for a newborn, so it holds multiple meanings. "And one thing I find fascinating about trees, especially in Gaza, is they grow and prosper despite everything, despite the occupation — they are so rooted. It's a very good reflection of the indigenous people."
That reverence makes the Israelis' destruction of olive groves particularly painful. The "immense pain" Malak has felt over this became a calling. "I needed to depict that violence against the trees, too." A poetic union If The Olive Trees Knew , the title of their joint exhibition at BOTH gallery , draws from Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish's work. For Malak, poetry has always been central in her life, school and home: "Poems were the way people spoke."
Peter, who has been creating political art since 1968, found inspiration in Palestinian poet Marwan Makhoul's piece O n Politics and Poetry. The exhibition represents an intergenerational partnership. The artists crossed paths at Peter's Archive of Dissent at the Whitechapel Gallery, then met curator Gabby Samara at Malak's solo show at Central Saint Martins (CSM). When Justine Hounam, founding artist and co-director of BOTH gallery, invited them to collaborate, they were all "honoured" and formed a trio of artistic resistance. The politics of art Despite Malak's growing international reputation and Peter's decades of defining work, showing art related to Palestine in commercial spaces remains almost impossible, they say. The art world, Peter adds, is still deafeningly silent over Israel's atrocities in Gaza.
BOTH gallery, as an independent, artist-led, non-profit space, stands as an exception in an industry becoming increasingly "corporate and controlled," Gabby tells The New Arab. She affirms how important this is. "It sets a precedent when many institutions are incredibly hostile."
Peter is "angry" at the art world's stiff upper lip over "the most horrendous event of my lifetime" and points to "private galleries concerned with their collectors, and public galleries concerned with their sponsors" as the reason for their refusal to engage.
"They know the horror of it. They know the total inhumanity of it," he insists.
"If art can't express what's going on, what are people going to say in 20 years' time about the relevance of [today's] art?" the 77-year-old artist adds. From flowers to resistance Peter, who was a professor of political art at the Royal College of Art for 50 years until his recent retirement, began his journey in political art following the huge protests against the Vietnam War in the late 60s. "I switched from painting flowers and nice stuff to expressing the anger I felt about what was going on," he tells The New Arab. Using photographs as "a trace of reality", he developed a powerful photomontage style that deconstructs images to convey messages of resistance to war and injustice. His bleeding flag of Palestine and Never Again #54 – part of the large body of work created between 2023 and 2025 in direct response to Palestinian suffering — stand out at the show. Born into a Jewish family whose great-grandfathers were murdered by the Nazis, Peter's awareness of the Palestinian cause deepened during a visit to Bethlehem with Banksy around 15 years ago. Experiencing checkpoints, the separation wall and apartheid laws cemented his outrage. Art as survival For Malak, art emerged as a response to her history and what her people have been through. "I don't overthink it," she explains. "I just think, what do I really want to tell people… to tell my siblings about? A story, a discovery, a photo from the archives."
Raised in a family of artists on her maternal side, Malak found painting as a teenager to process the reality of life under Israeli bombardment and occupation. "It also reminds me to grow in spite of everything, to grow as a human being, to grow as an artist," she says.
Resisting her father's ambitions for her to enter politics, she has instead built international acclaim with her vibrant, semi-abstract style, showing in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Qatar, and more. She authored and illustrated the children's book Sitti's Bird: A Gaza Story in 2022 and left Gaza on 6 October 2023 for her MA scholarship in Fine Art at CSM, the day before the Hamas-led attack, followed by the start of Israel's genocide . She has been unable to return since. Now, in one corner of BOTH gallery, The Bride of Palestine stands proudly alongside Gabby and Peter's Return, a seven-colour silkscreen print of a key that depicts the Palestinian longing to return to their homeland. The crisp colours mirror the clarity of the desire for justice and freedom.
When so much has been censored, silenced, and destroyed, these artists instinctively understand the urgency of continuing to communicate through their art. If the Olive Trees Knew will run until 12 April 2026 and is open Wednesday-Sunday 12-6 PM at BOTH Gallery Yanar Alkayat is an Iraqi-British health and wellness editor. She is also a registered yoga therapist supporting marginalised communities. Follow her on Instagram: @yanarfitness