Echoes of Hunger
Description
A painting of a Palestinian child weakened by starvation during the genocide in Gaza. We have become numb.
Artist Notes
May 2025: A national hunger strike is currently underway in the United States, led by students, activists, and organizations in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. This protest aims to draw attention to Israel's blockade of Gaza, which has led to widespread famine and humanitarian crisis.
Preservation Notes
Giclee - Fine Art Paper Prints • 16 x 20" Canson® Infinity Arches® Aquarelle Rag 310 1" Extra Border Added Packaged on Foamcore (acid free)“Echos of Hunger” --- CONSERVATION NOTES ADDED 15 OCTOBER 2026 Approved by Sky, Director of Operations. Original note above retained unchanged. THIS RECORD DESCRIBES TWO DIFFERENT OBJECTS The note above specifies a giclee print edition: 16 x 20 inches on Canson Infinity Arches Aquarelle Rag 310, with a one inch border, packaged on acid-free foamcore. The dimensions field on this record reads 21 x 14 cm. Those are not the same object. 21 x 14 cm is the original drawing; 16 x 20 inches is a reproduction. The record currently conflates an original work on paper with a print edition made from it. Nothing has been changed, because both values are correct for their respective objects. A cataloguer needs to decide whether the print edition belongs on this record, on a separate record, or in a field of its own. Note also that the print note spells the title "Echos of Hunger" against "Echoes of Hunger" in the title field. FRIABLE MEDIA, HANDLING RISK The dry media appear unfixed or only lightly fixed. Offsetting and smudging should be assumed possible until confirmed. The sheet should be interleaved and should not be stored in contact with another surface, and glazing should not touch the surface. MEDIA AND TECHNIQUE Predominantly dry media, coloured pencil and soft pastel, worked in directional strokes and visible as granular deposit sitting on the paper tooth, most evident in the flesh tones and the grey-blue ground. Thin wash passages in the background in teal, violet, and grey, showing soft tide-like transitions and pooling at the upper left, consistent with diluted watercolour or thinned ink. Fine linear work in dark brown and black defining feathers, hair contour, and features. Opaque white highlights applied as discrete dots and accents. Metallic gold accents throughout the feathering, reading as a separate reflective layer, gold ink or metallic pen, slightly raised relative to the dry media. No collage. No significant impasto. This is consistent with the recorded materials: charcoals, pastels, ink, pigments. SUPPORT Moderately textured paper with a regular fine tooth visible where dry pigment skips, suggesting cold-pressed watercolour or medium-tooth drawing paper. Sheet colour warm off-white where unworked, though the ground is largely covered. No watermark, deckle, plate mark, or mount visible; sheet edges are cropped by the photographic frame on all four sides. CONDITION No tears, losses, or punctures discernible. No foxing, staining, or discolouration spots identified. No definite creasing or cockling visible, though slightly uneven tonality and faint mottling at upper left may indicate either intentional wash variation or minor planar distortion from wet media. Raking light examination recommended. Metallic passages show localised specular highlight in the photograph with no flaking evident at this resolution. No abrasion, skinning, or media loss observed. SIGNATURE, NEEDS VERIFICATION AGAINST THE OBJECT A signature in white reading as "Ahmed H" sits in the lower right corner. It is rendered in a smooth uniform white line that lacks the granularity of the surrounding media. That is consistent either with applied white ink or with a digitally superimposed signature added to the photograph rather than present on the sheet. This distinction matters for the archive and cannot be settled from the image. Verify against the physical work. The forename is confirmed as Ahmed by the Director of Operations, 15 October 2026, who notes PAPA holds a contract with the artist. PHOTOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT The image documents an original hand-executed work rather than a printed reproduction. No halftone rosette, dot screen, or inkjet dithering is apparent, and media granularity and stroke direction are consistent with hand application. The white signature is the one element that may have been added after capture. SOURCE FILE 1946 x 3004 px. No scale reference, colour target, mount, frame, or verso documented. RECOMMENDED Examine under raking and ultraviolet light. Inspect verso. Confirm the signature medium. Assess fixative and the need for interleaving or glazed housing given the friable dry media.
