I hereby present to you ‘Heavenly Peace revisited (the imbalance of power)’
This pen drawing is a creative collaboration between myself and Ahmed Aldaalsa, an artist from Gaza. It expresses a feeling of powerlessness. Pen and ink on paper, 65 x 65 cm.
Heavenly Peace revisited (The imbalance of power) A collaboration between Ahmed Aldaalsa and Marit Otto 2025
The image is based on an iconic image from 1989 in which the Chinese army violently suppressed a large-scale student protest. The student in the image, armed only with two plastic bags in both hands, stood motionless in protest in front of a line of giant tanks rolling into Tiananmen Square. He did not flinch when the front tank drove threateningly towards him. Nothing has been heard of the anonymous student in question since then.
Next to the student who seems frozen in time stands a young Palestinian man armed with a flag. Different time and place, same image, the powerless provoking the powerful. The direct confrontation with the overwhelming colossus is a symbolic act that he could never win.
Equity and human rights, can that be something of different consequence for one person than for another?
The powerless against the powerful, a David against a Goliath, but then the David of the past would be the Goliath of today.
Almost Sold Out 2025- Pen and ink on paper – 70 x 70 cm
Life as we know it: ‘Only few left. Don’t miss out. Last stock. While stocks last. Everything apparently has its price. Does it matter? Should it matter? Cause before you know it, it’s gone.
Het leven zoals dat gaat: ‘Er zijn er nog maar een paar over. Mis deze kans niet. Laatste voorraad. Zolang de voorraad strekt. Alles heeft blijkbaar zijn prijs. Doet het er toe? Zou het er toe moeten doen? Want voor je het weet is het weg‘
How are things there? How does hunger feel? How does it feel to be slowly erased? How does it feel to dominate the news but still not be seen? What would I do if my country was occupied? Would my resistance be armed? What if the aggressor was once a victim too? And what if that is precisely at the root of this mayhem .
