The Lost Paintings, a Prelude to Return is an imagined recreation of the last exhibition held in Palestine by Palestinian-Lebanese artist Maroun Tomb, which opened on November 29, 1947 in Haifa.
The 1947 opening coincided with the very day in which the UN approved the Partition Plan of Palestine, igniting the war and events that will later become known as the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe, and during which, some 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homeland. Shortly after the opening, Tomb and his family were, too, forced into exile and never allowed to return to their homes. The fate of the 53 oil paintings presented in the exhibition, as well as most of Tomb’s pre-1948 body of work, was lost to the war and its pillage.
The Lost Painting will convene 53 artists from across Palestine and the diaspora to each create their own interpretation of a single lost painting from the original exhibition, based on the few remaining records – the invitation to the 1947 opening and an inventory of the paintings that were displayed in it. While each artist brings a unique perspective, together The Lost Paintings is an effort to resurrect what was lost to the Nakba in a humble prelude to the refugees’ anticipated return, and an effort to reclaim a space for making it a reality.
The project showcases the forefront of contemporary Palestinian art from across the world, bringing together emerging young artists, alongside established contemporaries and celebrated pioneers. Tracing the memory of paintings lost to the Nakba, The Lost Paintings examines loss and destruction on one hand, and the power of imagination and art in shaping new futures on the other.
