Jordanian artist channels Gaza’s grief through powerful portraiture
Maram Ali’s expressive paintings mourn the victims of war, offering visual testimony to the ongoing suffering in Palestine
IRBID, Jordan (MNTV) — A Jordanian painter has turned her canvas into a space of remembrance and resistance, capturing the human toll of Israel’s continued bombardment of Gaza through vivid, emotionally charged portraits.
Maram Ali, (Instagram: mramalie) a Jordanian citizen of Palestinian origin, has never stepped foot in Palestine but says her attachment to her ancestral homeland runs deep. “It’s a collective feeling,” she said speaking to New Arab news. “We love Palestine and we want to visit Palestine.”
Since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023, Ali has steadily built a following of over 20,000 on Instagram by sharing her expressive depictions of Palestinians killed in airstrikes—including children, medics, journalists, and political figures.
The 33-year-old mother of two, based in Irbid, said the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital bombing—which killed more than 400 civilians sheltering in the medical facility just ten days after October 7—was the moment that pushed her to respond artistically.
“I had just given birth. It was very difficult to watch the news,” she said. “But the war was everywhere. You just had to find a way to live with it.” For Maram, that meant painting.
Despite holding a finance degree, Ali’s passion for art began in early childhood. “I was drawing before I could write,” she recalled.
Over the years, she honed her craft, experimenting with oil, acrylic, and watercolor before settling on a bold expressionist style.
Her technique features heavy brushwork, blurred contours, and intense emotional detail—qualities she says help “heighten the feeling” of each story she tells.
Among her most widely shared works is a portrait of 10-year-old Tala Abu Ajwa, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike while wearing pink roller skates. Other paintings commemorate journalists, doctors, and parents who have lost their lives.
She has also painted images of regional figures such as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, whose portrait was removed by Instagram for violating content guidelines.
“They even chase us on social media,” she said. “This is our only small window to express ourselves.”
Ali has also created paintings in solidarity with Syria and Lebanon, responding to key moments such as the Syria uprising and clashes involving Hezbollah. However, it is Gaza that dominates her work.
Though emotionally taxing, she refuses to stop. “It’s exhausting. Sometimes I can’t finish a piece,” she said. Yet she continues, driven by a sense of duty to document the suffering and resistance of her people.
Ali does not sell her originals, opting instead to share digital copies freely with those who request them. “These are not just paintings,” she said. “They are stories of martyrs, families, hunger, displacement—and of resistance.”
“If we don’t document them, who will?”
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
