Nabil Anani: A Journey into Script
An Exhibition of Colour and Calligraphy from Palestine

Nabil Anani, one of Palestine’s foremost artists, makes a welcome return to London. His latest exhibition, A Journey into Script, is both a celebration of Arabic calligraphy and of a career spanning nearly forty years of artistic excellence.
In spite of the continued political upheaval and insecurity in his homeland, Anani has produced some of his most stunning and delicate work in recent years. Exhibition curator, Dale Egee says:

“This latest exhibition by Nabil Anani, one of Palestine’s best known artists, is a celebration of the Arabic language and the sublime beauty of its calligraphy. Building on the refinement of several varieties, he uses his own graphic and geometrical styles to enhance them.
His work reminds us of another aspect of the roots of this great culture. Traditionally, Arabic art has had balance and equilibrium. Nabil Anani has used his artistic skill to personalise this. He relies on the sharpness of the design to furnish that balance.”

In the highly politicised environment of Palestine, often the “collective narrative” overwhelms the individual style. Here, Anani has once again refrained from succumbing to such norms. Placing his art before much else, he has used the vehicle of calligraphy to further his influences and styles.
Leading art critic Sacha Craddock observes that in A Journey into Script, Nabil Anani “...makes depth and space out of text and writing. He uses text as it has always been, as a quality, a reality, as if a found object.” She adds “This work is a continuation of the questions asked by generations of Palestinian artists about how and whether to hold on the art of the past while looking to the future.” Anani’s art is a reminder that whatever the vision or method of artistic expression, the experience and living memory of Palestine and what it means to be Palestinian is ever-present: “…the history of a place cannot go away.”