KHALED JARRAR: I’M GOOD AT SHOOTING, BAD AT PAINTING

Artist Khaled Jarrar will create paintings in the desert, using his gun to splatter paint across canvas. Says the artist: “Gently I press the trigger, the bullet capable of reaching hundreds of meters in less than a second. Pressing it is always sensitive and fragile; it is like touching something that has never been touched before. Undoubtedly, the bullet will go fast and hit the target to create colorful shapes, exposing how powerless we can be if we are within its frame. I try to engender a methodology that allows me to create art where I can use the skills that I learned as a trained soldier. This methodology is a space of metaphors, displaying a natural analogy of my accumulated skills as both artist and soldier. I was trained to shoot, to follow rules, and I was good at it.”

KHALED JARRAR (Ramallah, Palestine and Tucson, AZ) creates work that explores the impact of modern- day power struggles on ordinary citizens, while seeking to maximize the social potential of artistic interventions. His work has been shown across the world in venues such as the New Museum (NYC), Aga Khan Museum (Toronto), USF Contemporary Art Museum (Tampa) and the 7th Berlin Biennale.