Remnants of war become art in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Four flower vases adorn the living room of Hossam Al-Dabbus’s home. Initially inconspicuous, a closer look reveals they are made of Israeli tank shells collected by war-scarred Gazans.
The refugee camp dweller has picked through the rubble of the coastal strip to turn the remains of a conflict that killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians and more than 70 Israelis, into objects of art.
“I wanted to keep a souvenir, but my relatives and neighbors felt uncomfortable with them around, so I had the idea of painting them to make them beautiful,” the 33-year-old told AFP.
In his hands, the twisted remnants have taken on a new life — shell casings covered in golden motifs, tail fins turned into the feet of a vase, the dull metal disappearing under an explosion of painted flowers.
“When my children grow up I’ll be able to show them these and tell them — here are remains of the 2014 war that left over 2,000 people dead, and this is how I transformed an instrument of death into a vessel of life, making these bombs into flower vases,” he said.
During the seven-week war which ended on August 26, the Israeli army fired countless missiles and tank shells at Gaza.
To his great surprise, Dabbus, who lives in Gaza’s biggest refugee camp in Jabaliya and works in the honey business, found orders for his creations coming in.
To secure materials for his art, he went to see the police, who are controlled by the Hamas — the de facto rulers of Gaza.
“As dozens of people were asking me to decorate shells, the police gave me as many as I wanted, provided of course I only used them for my art,” he said.
Enthused, he took home his first batch of 20 projectiles, among them rockets, mortar shells and missiles, while taking care how he handled them.