‘Under dawn’s early light the earth takes shape 
as does clay when a seal is firmly pressed in it; Its colours and features stand out 
as a well-made garment does from the body.’ Job 38:14 (VOC)

Shatha's handcrafted clay thobes in the golden sunlight

Though this scripture was written over 2000 years ago, the words resonate profoundly with the life and work of Shatha Safi, a talented, self-taught, Palestinian visual artist.

Born four decades after the 1948 Nakba, which drove her family from their ancestral village of Jerash, Shatha belongs to the refugee community now residing in Dheisheh Camp, south Bethlehem. 

The camp, originally intended to house 3000 internally displaced Palestinians, now has more than 13000 residents. Whilst accommodation is cramped, basic and temporary, the community and cultural heritage enduring there feels rich, safe and life-giving to Shatha. 

Both her grandmothers and many women of older generations who came to the camp from Jerash and neighbouring villages are the lifeline to their rich cultural heritage.

Shatha locates her ancestral village of Jerash on a map

Through conversations with these matriarchs, Shatha was inspired to create her first artistic collection Bint el Shams (Daughter of the Sun) – Thobes (traditional Palestinian dresses hand-embroidered with Tatreez) reproduced in sun-baked clay sculpture. Each Thobe is unique – a handwoven piece of history and genealogy – in preserving it, the Palestinian culture and character of the person who designed, crafted and wore it lives on. Shatha preserves Thobe designs in clay – born out of the Palestinian land and fired under the Palestinian sun – her artwork is highly symbolic, each piece holding and amplifying the Palestinian cultural voice.

Shatha stays connected with her rich Palestinian heritage
through conversation with the Matriarchs of her community

Shatha also creates inked sketches depicting Palestinian people in their authentic environment, her intentional omission of facial features representing the collective ancestral memory – forgotten faces with continued palpable presence. For Shatha, art is a duty, a powerful yet peaceful resistance.

‘I see my art as a form of resistance and continuity towards freedom, 
an ink and clay Molotov slung at the occupation. I feel I must carry this heritage 
and give it to the people and generations to continue.’

We are honoured that Shatha has created beautiful artwork featuring Palestinian women dressed in traditional 'thobes' decorated with tatreez embroidery exclusively for Embrace, as well as nativity artwork for a Christmas card, plantable notecard & Christmas gift tags, which will be available during the Christmas season.

Shatha's artwork features on our Advocacy Campaign - Childhood Behind Bars - highlighting the ongoing trauma experienced by child detainees in Palestine. Dheisheh Camp, where Shatha is a resident, like many areas of the West Bank, is often subjected to night raids by Israeli military, with children and young people taken from their homes and families, and transferred to detention centres in Israel. 

You can read more about the Childhood Behind Bars Advocacy Campaign and the importance of ending the military detention of children in our blog: Stop Child Military Detention in the West Bank

As well as supporting the Advocacy Campaign through taking action and writing to your MP, you can also support Embrace's ongoing work with our partners in the West Bank, to provide psycho-social support for children, young people and families who have experienced the trauma of military detention. Buy an Unchained Childhood Alternative Gift today and be part of changing lives for the better in Palestine.

Unchained Childhood Alternative Gift - receive a physical gift card through the post to keep or send on to a loved one

Digital Unchained Childhood Alternative Gift - same donation, same support, but without the faff of printing and postage - receive an email with a downloadable PDF that you can keep or send on to a loved one