Tarzan and Arab’s Gazawood is a series of mock film posters and a short cinematic video. They released this project in 2010 when they received a commission from A.M. Qattan Foundation as part of the annual YAYA Awards competition. They competed against nine other artists and were awarded first place.

Their work was exhibited in the old building of “markez el-fnn el-sh3bi” (or the Popular Arts Centre), where the movie, Colourful Journey, screened for the first time.

There it was, playing, over and over and over again… Lasting 99 seconds, the motion picture starts softly with a sound and builds into an action-horror-satirical film filled with colour and dark humour.

Scribbles of a crayon,
Hands of a “beast,”
A young man appears as he sharpens a wooden rod.

Disrupted by the sound of helicopters hovering, he jumps with his rifle,
Loaded and in full gear.

A helicopter spins in the grey-blue sky. The music intensifies.
The eyes of “our hero” show no blink of fear.
He carries on.

A new set of feet appear on the ground.
The two meet; we are in the battlefield.
With the helicopter still flying, the movie ends.

Tarzan and Arab use elements from reality and fantasy in the 21 posters they generated for the Gazawood series. They refer to the horrific operations lead by Israel in Gaza in the titles of the posters. Employing Hollywood-style techniques, they combine images from the devastation and destruction of the Gaza Strip and add their own interpretations to the operations with visuals using sharp tones and colour. It’s pretty heavy material to sink in all at once. The video and posters will leave the viewer in a state of both perplexity and serenity. You won’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The tape played and replayed. In the humble, grey-coloured screening room of the Popular Arts Centre, 49 viewers sat to see the film. Tarzan and Arab used intrusions and audio-visual effects to guide the audience through the journey. In the short film on the one hand, and the posters on the other, the twins show their sharp talent. Satire, horror, playfulness, and action were all depicted in their work.

The beauty of these two young men is mesmerising. Their wide eyes shift from hope to pain. Their hair has stories. Original and innovative, the creative duo tells a haunting account of the Israelis’ violent violations in the Gaza Strip. They use graphic design and make posters inspired by the tradition of cinema. Ironically, the idea evolved from the lack of production equipment in Gaza that would meet the twins’ vision. Thus, a new vision was created.

There are many layers to peel, break down, look in between, and discuss in the series. Each poster illuminates something different from the others. They are all packed with stories, and the viewer must take a long, quiet time to understand each one. The images are bloody, disturbing, funny, and wild.
Combining elements from fantasy and dark humour, Tarzan and Arab paint a message of life in face of the Israeli oppression. They offer new readings of the on-going Israeli attacks and depict their experience with the art of visual and cinematic expression. The attached photos are part of the series. The four selected posters, “Bringing Home the Goods,” “Pillar of Cloud,” “Rainbow,” and “Field of Thorns” reflect the diversity of the collection.

With their spin, Tarzan and Arab succeed in presenting another dimension of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and bringing attention to the humanity of the Palestinian struggle. They are your ”usual” faces of two young boys in Gaza. With their exquisite talents and skills, they represent hundreds of children that have been killed by Israeli bombardment and hundreds more who continue to suffer.

The project received attention from audiences in Palestine and abroad. The posters along with the short video were exhibited in venues in more than 28 countries around the world. The work, Gazawood, continues to tour and was recently selected to be part of the official selection of the Rotterdam International Film Festival.

Tarzan and Arab draw and paint to manifest an odd situation and carry the viewer into a sea of emotions waiting to be discovered.

Gazawood was written and directed by Ahmad M. Abu Nasser (Tarzan) and Mohammad M. Abu Nasser (Arab). A Gazawood Cinema Production. All rights reserved, 2010.

Further links and readings:
www.gazawood.com
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/15/tarzan-arab-gaza-artists
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/colorful-journey/

See PDF www.thisweekinpalestine.com/i179/pdfs/article/gazawood.pdf