To Breathe the Shadow

Artwork: Giuseppe Penone, Respirare l’ombra (To Breathe the Shadow), Serpentine Gallery, London, 2025

A major exhibition by Italian artist Giuseppe Penone is now showing at the Serpentine Gallery in London, Thoughts in the Roots. Penone is renowned for his connection to the Arte Povera movement of the 1960s, which prioritised simplicity in natural materials and artistic techniques, and for his exploration of the connection of humans and nature, often aligning the tree with the human form. As Penone says: “All my work is a trial to express my adherence and belonging to nature…”

 One significant installation in the exhibition is Respirare l’ombra (To Breathe the Shadow). This installation was first created in 1999, made of a wire mesh grid lining the walls and either laurel or bay leaves placed in the grid, the scent permeating the air. A sculpture of lungs shaped with gold leaf is placed at roughly the height of an adult, representing the process of breathing. From 1978 onwards Penone began creating a series of sculptures Soffi (Breaths) focusing on the breath, the idea of the exhalation of breath being an invisible sculptural presence and the classical idea of humans being created from breath and breath being a vital element. In these early works Penone would visualise the moment of exhalation by creating an imprint of his body in clay and with breath expelled from his lungs. In Respirare l’ombra (To Breathe the Shadow), Penone focuses on the process of inhalation, where the scent of the leaves becomes the presence or conscious reminder to the viewer of the act of breathing in an evocative and poetic imagining.

If I must die

Image: Film still from the Palestinian documentary Flying Paper, Gaza, 2013

Palestinian poet and writer Refaat Alareer was born in Gaza and was killed in Gaza along with his family in an Israeli airstrike in 2023. He was fierce in his advocacy for Palestinian storytelling and the freedom of his people. The following poem by Alareer If I must die, was written in 2011 and speaks of the longing for freedom, but also of hope, even in the face of death.

If I must die,

you must live

to tell my story

to sell my things

to buy a piece of cloth

and some strings,

(make it white with a long tail)

So that a child, somewhere in Gaza

while looking heaven in the eye

awaiting his dad who left in a blaze—

and bid no one farewell

not even to his flesh

not even to himself—

sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above

and thinks for a moment an angel is there

bringing back love

If I must die

let it bring hope

let it be a tale

Rage Against the Machine

Artwork: Goin, Rage Against the Machine, Jardin du bois d’Arta, Grenoble, 2025

Great stencil artwork from Goin (@goin.art), Rage Against the Machine, at Jardin du bois d’Arta, children’s playground in Grenoble. He said this about the piece: “Breaking toys was cute. Breaking systems is better. Wake up. Smash the screens. Question everything.”

Questions

Artwork: Banksy, Flying Balloon Girl, West Bank Wall, near Qalandia checkpoint

This is heartbreaking. Questions posed by children in Gaza compiled by staff at the Palestine Trauma Centre:

“After we die, will I hear your voice?”

“When I die, will they put me in a grave with my mom and dad?”

“Why do they always bomb us?”

“If they bomb someone while I was walking next to him, would I be martyred?”

“When a missile hits us do we feel pain or die immediately?”

“Do children who have their legs amputated grow new legs?”

“Do the pilots who bomb children have children?”

“Will I die today?”

“Why do they hate us?”

“Can the planes see us when we’re hiding?”

“When will we stop waiting and standing in line for fresh water?”

“When will we go back to school?”

“Will I have a birthday next year?”

“Will I see my friends again?”

“Is it true the world doesn’t care?”

seraphic cat

Artwork: Paste-up by OAKOAK, Seraphic cat, 2025

Another poetic paste-up by French street artist OAKOAK (@oakoak_street_art). His description is lovely:

“Seraphic cat , strange cat,
In whom everything is, as in an angel,
As subtle as it is harmonious!”

Home

Artwork: Emily Jacir, Home, 1998

In 1998 Palestinian artist Emily Jacir did a year-long residency at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris and started making work using khubz which is a round leavened flatbread from the Middle Eastern region. Recently she commented, “Can't stop thinking about bread and flour and how famine and starvation are being used as weapons of war…” Food is life, and in Gaza the lack of humanitarian aid, including food, coming in since March is an ongoing crisis. When getting a bag of flour can cost you your life, simply to provide food such as bread for your family and those who depend on you, it’s a horror simply to imagine it, let alone live through.

I wrote the following poem, based on the words of a little boy in Gaza trying to get food for his family:

he was crying
a small boy
not just because
the food he’d got,
the one meal
for his family
that day,
had been stolen
but for the pot
that had been taken
as well, without it
he had no
other means
to carry the food

© Angela Jooste

Beneath the Quiet Guardians

Artwork: Installation by SATR, Beneath the Quiet Guardians, Abbaye Saint-Martin, Laon, France, 2025

London-based street artist SATR was recently asked to participate in the Arts Urbains in Laon, France, and created this wonderful installation incorporating her distinctive graphics at Abbaye Saint-Martin. Titled Beneath the Quiet Guardians, SATR wrote this about the work:

“At the centre of four interconnected scrolls hangs the frontal portrait of a gargoyle. Tracing the origin of gargoyles from dragon-slaying myths to their symbolic construction and eventual dissolution, the series explores how society repeatedly imbues objects with mythical purposes, only to forget them again. 

The spatial installation draws upon the structural logic of the Chinese character “回,” which evokes notions of return, enclosure, and cyclical repetition, echoing themes of migration and recurrence.”

Levantarse

Love the minimal vibe of this track by Bambounou Levantarse, released this year on his label Bambe. Check it out!

Levantarse (Original Mix)
Bambounou

Stars Over Wars

Artwork: Mural by GOIN, Stars Over Wars, Grenoble, France, 2025

Great mural by GOIN (@goin.art) for the Grenoble Street Art Fest, France, Stars Over Wars. Absolutely agree!

For the Free

A short travel film by Ain Raadik, For the Free. He had this to say about it: “Shot on Super 8 film, For the Free – A Travel Vignette is a 36-second visual journey across Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, Brazil, and French Polynesia. This cinematic travel short blends nostalgic textures with a curious, reflective voiceover about the meaning of freedom, exploration, and wanderlust. A poetic glimpse into the beauty of slow travel and the spirit of adventure—raw, real, and for the free.”

STILLLOVEU

Got this track by ZEP on repeat, STILLLOVEU, released this year on the EP, wtfuknow. Love the energy. Check it out!

STILLLOVEU
ZEP

Take care...

Artwork: Kenny Random, Take care of yourself, Padova, Italy 2025

Sometimes you just need a hug and someone to lean on.

Madleen

Artwork: Sand sculpture by Yazid Abu Jarad (@yazidabujarad), Gaza City, 2025

The freedom flotilla ship, the Madleen, with its crew of twelve people was intercepted and boarded illegally yesterday in international waters by the IOF, the crew taken to Ashod Port to be processed and then handed over into custody by the Israeli authorities to be moved to the Ramleh detention facility, with the possibility they may be permitted to fly out of Tel Aviv. The Madleen crew’s mission to reach Gaza with humanitarian aid may not have been successful, but it was a resounding symbol of solidarity and hope worldwide in its journey to break the humanitarian blockade on Gaza. In many ways it is a spearhead as further humanitarian actions to break the aid blockade by international citizens is happening with the Samud Convoy from Tunisia with 7,000 plus people driving to Cairo to meet with thousands from all over the world prepared for the March to Gaza on June 12. For Gazans, the Madleen was a much needed symbol that they were not forgotten, that the world is watching and that people are prepared to act and to help them in whatever way they can to end the genocide. Palestinian artist Yazid Abu Jarad and a group of young people, created an artwork on the beach of Gaza City near the port where the Madleen was supposed to dock. For Abu Jarad the sculpture expressed his solidarity with the activists aboard the ship, a gesture of appreciation and defiance against the ongoing siege and aggression.

S.O.S.

Brilliant new track from Aaron Hibell, s.o.s. Check it out!

s.o.s.
Aaron Hibell

Watermelon

Artwork: Mural by Alice Pasquini, Molise, Italy 2025

Great new mural by Alice Pasquini for street art festival at Civita Campomarona, Molise, Italy. For Palestine.

F*** ChatGPT

Artwork: Drawing by Kenny Random, FUCK CHAT GPT, 2025

Italian artist Kenny Random (@kennyrandom) created this drawing recently. I agree completely.

We did not live silent

Image: Steel wool fireworks celebrating Ramadan in Gaza,, 2025 (source: Mohamed Al Khalidi, @m7md_vo)

Heartbreakingly beautiful words from a video by @pa_allies, expressing Palestinian voices in Gaza. It reads as a poem and the cadence of the opening lines reminded me of Dylan Thomas’s poem, Do not go gentle into that good night:

Tell them

We did not live silent

We lit up the sky

We laughed

We took care of each other

 

Tell them

We were broken

But we did not live silent

We reached for the impossible

And it was impossible

 

If I die

Tell them

We did not live silent

We sang

We taught

We learned

We grew

We messed with each other

We danced

And we danced

We made it work

We prayed for each other

We cried

We held each other

 

But tell them

We did not live silent

We resisted

And resisted

And resisted

And resisted

We bled

We stitched each other up

We leaned on each other

We fed each other

 

Tell them

We did not live silent

We told stories at night

We rode at dawn

We ran for our lives

We swam for our lives

We risked it all

We never gave up

Until the last breath

 

Tell them

We did not live silent

And we died

Free

A Meeting of Silent Threads

Artwork: Waqas Khan, A Meeting of Silent Threads, ink and acrylic on canvas, 2025

Pakistani artist Waqas Khan created this stunning artwork Meeting of Silent Threads to be featured in the exhibition Cosmic Frequencies: Consciousness and Quantum Cosmology in Art at the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai, May 2025. Khan wrote this about the ink and acrylic work on canvas:

“I share this work with you as a quiet offering — a symbol of peace, unity, and hope between Countries.
This piece speaks through silence. It’s about connection beyond borders, beyond conflict — where threads meet not in noise, but in understanding. We are bound by shared history, culture, language, and love. It’s time we honour that.
Let this be a reminder: art can heal, dialogue can begin in stillness, and peace is always possible.”

Captain Wayne Coon

Artwork: Paste-up by @tianooo_the_cat, Captain Wayne Coon, Vico San Domenico Maggiore, Naples, 2025

Move over Jack Sparrow! Great paste-up by @tianooo_the_cat featuring Captain Wayne Coon! Love it.