Taysir Batniji’s screengrabs of Gaza – now published to support Medical Aid for Palestinians

All images from the series Disruptions © Taysir Batniji, 2024. Courtesy Loose Joints

Drawn from patchy WhatsApp video calls made between 2015 and 2017, Taysir Batniji’s new publication directly supports the NGO

Disruptions by Taysir Batniji gathers screenshots the artist made while speaking with his family in Gaza via WhatsApp between 24 April 2015 and 23 June 2017. Mixing images of everyday life with pixelated visual breakdowns, these ‘poor images’ materialise both the difficulties of long-distance contact and the ongoing political situation in Gaza.

Batniji’s images are dated in the book, suggesting a connection between the disturbed conversations and the violence imposed on Palestine; the series is being published by Loose Joints in response to the current conflict in Gaza. All profits from its sale will go to the NGO Medical Aid for Palestinians.

Born in 1966, Batniji studied art at Al-Najah University in Nablus, Palestine, and was awarded a fellowship to study at the School of Fine Arts of Bourges, France in 1994. He then divided his time between France and Palestine until 2006, when travel to Gaza became impossible. Batniji’s practice incorporates photography, video, drawing, installation and performance, and his previous publications include Home Away From Home, commissioned for the French-American Immersion project by Fondation d’entreprise Hermès and Aperture Foundation. His work has also been shown at Venice Biennale, in Palestine’s first pavilion in 2019, and at Les Rencontres d’Arles.

Taysir Batniji, Disruptions, includes an essay in English, French, and Arabic by Taous R Dahmani, and is published in January 2024 (Loose Joints)