‘Between Sky and Sea' photo exhibit showcases the life of displaced Gazans: ‘Not just war and rubble'

Chicago Tribune

a day ago

An art and community space in East Garfield Park has been transformed into an immersive exhibit showcasing the life of displaced Gazans. Hung around the small studio are photographs of little children sitting in rubble and ruin, a father securing his family's tent with sand, a group of young men playing beach volleyball along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
Gaza in the photos of Palestinian photojournalist and filmmaker Ismail Abu Hatab is more than destruction and despair.
'It's not just war and rubble and bombing — there's life, too,' said Matt Perry, a Chicago organizer for ByPa, a nonprofit platform founded by Abu Hatab that seeks to redefine the Palestinian narrative through art. Perry worked closely with the photojournalist to bring 'Between Sky and Sea' to life at Walls Turned Sideways.
The exhibit, which opened in July, has been in the works for several months. But the planning took on a new dimension after June 30, when an Israeli airstrike on the seaside Al-Baqa Cafe killed Abu Hatab.
'We were no longer just collaborating with him or even working for him, we became guardians and stewards of his work and of his vision,' said Perry. 'Those large photos obviously weren't easy to print or achieve, nor were they cheap. Specifically, the one of the boy jumping into the ocean — I just felt like it had to be done as big as possible.'
Abu Hatab took that photo from the direct vantage point of Al-Baqa Cafe near the port in Gaza City. In the foreground, there's a hazy cloud of smoke. A young man dressed only in a pair of rolled-up sweats, arms spread out mid-air, gleefully jumps into the sea.
The exhibit staff plays an audio accompaniment to supplement the viewing experience. The thud of drones is quickly washed over by the crashing of waves — calm and restoring. People chatter, kids laugh, seagulls screech and birds chirp. A drone strikes again.
'Each individual story on there takes on a totally different mood,' Perry said about the impact of the audio. 'One thing I was looking at with joy at one time, minutes later it's suddenly this very, dreadful type of sadness.'
The ambient sound was Abu Hatab's idea, said Sarah Ross, co-director and founder of Walls Turned Sideways.
The sounds are just as loud from inside the large tent in the center of the Walls Turned Sideways space, meant for attendees to step inside and walk through.
Under tattered fabrics held up by two rods are worn-out sheets, stuffed animal toys, empty crates turned into a 'dining table,' a makeshift stove and a helium balloon cylinder, which Ross said represents a gas tank.
The tent represents the living conditions of thousands who have been displaced from their homes following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on southern Israel, after which the Israeli military unleashed a heavy response.
Ross, who was hanging a battery-operated camping lantern inside the tent on a recent Friday afternoon, said the collaborators were given a detailed list of items to procure.
'There was no part of that that didn't come from Ismail's original design,' Perry added. 'I actually thought that the tent part would be the toughest, how do you actually recreate it, but when you look at the photos he provided versus what we ended up doing, it does evoke those feelings.'
Perry lives in Chicago and first connected with Abu Hatab online through friends who were involved in Palestinian activism in Germany. They met Abu Hatab's brother, Ahmad, when he was in Germany and unable to return to Gaza. Perry got closer to the group around the end of 2023, when an entire wall collapsed on Ismail Abu Hatab after an airstrike struck his office building. Perry helped him and his family with medical bills and expenses as they moved into one of the remaining apartments in Gaza City. He remained in touch, corresponding via Instagram and WhatsApp.
'From there, it really took on a deeper level — (Ismail) said to me, 'I have a new brother now,'' said Perry.
Perry said Abu Hatab asked for help in bringing his exhibit idea to Chicago. He said working on the project gave Abu Hatab some hope. But not long after the exhibit launched in Los Angeles, Abu Hatab was killed.
Ghada Hamwi, co-founder of ByPa and one of Abu Hatab's closest friends, said the day of his death was unimaginable. Through tears over a recent Zoom call, Hamwi and Abu Hatab's brother, Ahmad, said they are still in a state of trauma.
'We want to continue his dream, because he deserves to be seen all over the world,' Hamwi said, with Ahmad adding that his mother asked him to work hard to bring attention to Ismail's work. 'We promised Ismail that he's not going to be a number.'
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war and around 90% of the population has been displaced.
Most of Ismail Abu Hatab's photos and video footage in the 'Between Sky and Sea' exhibit were taken between the summer of 2024 and early 2025.
'A picture cannot actually stop (Israel)… what matters is there's a lot of spiritual devastation that comes with it and anybody attuned to this is going to feel very dispirited and nihilistic,' Perry said.
But if there's any value to art, he said, it's to revitalize the spirit. People need to be able to look at that photo of the kid jumping in the ocean and feel — irrespective of what else has happened — that there are kids in Gaza who will grow up and see a new day.
The exhibit runs noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays until Aug. 23 at Walls Turned Sideways, 2717 W. Madison St., free, more information at wallsturnedsideways.org