Sliman Mansour, a leading figure of Palestinian art, has died aged 79.
Born in Birzeit, Palestine, Mansour studied art at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. His paintings, often censored by the Israel government, depicted the landscapes and people of Palestine under occupation. His use of symbols, including olive trees, oranges and traditional dress, contributed to the development of a visual language of Palestinian resistance. Some of his most known works, which the artist also circulated as posters, include Camel of hardships (1974) depicting an elderly Palestinian man carrying the city of Jerusalem, and Rituals under occupation (1989) showing a funeral procession with a coffin covered by a Palestinian flag.
Throughout his life, Mansour also took part in organising, developing and promoting the Palestinian art scene. In response to the first Intifada (1987–93), he created the ‘New Vision’ group alongside other Palestinian artists, making works with local natural materials such as mud, coffee and henna to boycott Israeli art supplies. In 1973, he cofounded the league of Palestinian Artists, which he then led from 1986 to 1990, and in 1994, he cofounded the al-Wasiti Art Center in Jerusalem with his peers from New Vision.
His work has been shown internationally, including at the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; the Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah; the Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston; and the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
