Despite deep and widespread solidarity, Palestinian art is not adequately represented in Egypt. Efforts to remedy this include the Ramallah-based Gallery One’s participation in the Cairo Art show at the Grand Egyptian Museum last year, and solo exhibitions by Palestinian artists have since provided a range of opportunities for Egyptian viewers to connect with Palestinian work. Reema Al Mozayen’s Lend Me Your Smile at Almashrabiyya Gallery in Al Mohandessin (7 April-7 May) was one such show. These paintings reflect the Palestinian tragedy through portraiture.
Born in Damascus in 1977, Al Mozayen is a Palestinian-Jordanian artist who divides her time between Germany and Egypt. Known for her rich and complex techniques, has exhibited her artwork around the world in distinguished group exhibitions and had held twenty two solo exhibitions so far, nine of which were in Italy, where she lived for several years.
Her exhibitions in Cairo include The Body and Memory of Place in 2006 as well as Heart Marks at Almashrabiyya in 2024. In 2008, she earned her MA degree in design from Helwan University, in which she focused on the use of Canaanite mythology in contemporary Palestinian art. Since then, she has used Canaanite material herself. This reached an apogee with her 2015 Amman exhibition Her Story with the Trees.
As I saw for myself, Al Mozayen’s work imparts an instant feeling of intimacy and belonging. The artist herself says the present paintings are based on a video art and collage piece she exhibited in Italy in early 2025. “The objective was to share positive energy with Palestinians in Gaza because of their continuous suffering,” she told me at the gallery. The one-minute video shows Al Mozayen attaching smily faces to her own portrait with the sounds of destruction and children’s screams in the background.
“Already, at the time, I felt the concept needed to be explored further in painting. It took her a year to complete the 45 large and medium-sized acrylic on canvas pieces, in which she layers the paint to create depth, using a brighter palette than usual. The Canaanite influence can be seen in the prevalence of light purple. “Continually coming back to Egypt from Germany gives my paintings warmth and vividness,” she noted.
Thematically, there is an interest in Canaanite mythology and Palestinian wedding traditions. Al Mozayen’s figures look content, their faces reflecting peacefulness, but a state of stillness pervades. An untitled 200 x 200 cm piece depicts four female figures standing in awe, like smiling goddesses with tiny circles above or underneath their bodies, which might refer to venting negative feelings or to smiles.
Almost all the figures are in a state of serenity, complete stillness, which might refer to Palestinians’ emotional stability during war or their connection to the land. “I usually show my people in a dreamy mood, because we haven’t given up hope yet,” Al Mozayen says. Here as in her previous work, stylised portraiture with wide beautiful eyes is key. “I am not painting myself, but most of the figures are unconsciously related to me or my children.”
In An Imminent Joy, the artist depicts a woman relaxing on a sofa after what looks like a long day, her body evoking a lump of clay. In Mariam and the Apple, the artist’s daughter is holding an apple. “I see apples as a symbol of femininity, and I the language of the eyes as one of my distinct characteristics as an artist.” A number of paintings dominated by blue are collectively called The Blue Dream: a female figure amid trees and houses, a man and a woman smiling at each other...
A larger, 300 x 200 cm acrylic on canvas called A Henna Party brings wedding traditions to life, while a 200 x 200 cm piece called Fly Away If the Earth Is Too Confining is the only painting combining movement and stillness. It shows one group of young women trying to take off while another remains rooted to the ground, with serene smiles. “It is actually dedicated to the children of wars,” she says, “who lost their lives and turned into angels.”
GPS is a medium-sized diptych in which GPS is a metaphor for modern love. The exhibition ends on an interactive note with A Picture with the Artist, a large white canvas in which viewers are asked to write their answer to the question, “What does happiness mean to you?”
* A version of this article appears in print in the 28 May, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
Short link: