Artist Muhammad Jahlash has developed an unusual way of expressing the suffering of his fellow residents of Gaza: he paints the empty sardine cans which are handed out to Palestinian refugees.

From his home in the Al-Saftawi neighbourhood in the northern Gaza Strip, Jahlash creates delicate scenes on the discarded tin cans.

Some depict the separation barrier in the West Bank, others the plight of Gaza's children or the lack of resources created by the ongoing blockade of the territory.

The canned sardines are handed out to Palestinian refugees by the UN agency UNRWA and Jahlash says this gives the works a special resonance.

"Why not take advantage of these cans," he says.

"The cans represent Palestinian refugees since they are handed out as aid to the people," he adds.

"Citizen Muhammad Jahlash, a Palestinian professor and artist who lives in the Al-Saftawi neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip, embodies the suffering of the Palestinian refugee displaced from his land. He paints inside a sardine box, the suffering of the refugees, who are from the siege and lack of resources, he paints the children and the separation wall in the West Bank and the suffering of Citizens moving from one place to another, imposing a blockade on them and restricting them from the Israeli occupation, explaining medicines and barriers on citizens."

"Interview / Muhammad Jahlash"

"This box, why not take advantage of it? At the same time, this box I saw that it represents the Palestinian refugees, since they distribute it as aids that they receive from the donors."

The best way to transfer aid to them is to move it inside the box itself, and it represents the issue that Palestinian society has always lived through. If he was a refugee or a citizen


"When a Palestinian citizen leaves the West Bank or inside the country, he meets the checkpoints. These barriers are the cause of the citizens’ suffering, whether in the West Bank or Gaza Strip, but in the West Bank they suffer a lot of them."

"I used about 250 boxes, which hold 250 cases, each case is different from the other case, and of course this case is inclusive of the Palestinian citizen, with regard to treatment, health, education, and transportation."

"I wanted to transfer the problems of the Palestinian citizen within this fund that he represents, and because it is among the aid that he receives from donors, I wanted to use it to transfer his suffering inside this fund."