As an artist, I have always believed that art must do more than exist—it must engage, question, and ultimately move us toward deeper understanding. "If Gaza Were Here" emerged from a profound frustration with the disconnect between distant suffering and our daily lives.

When tragedy occurs far away, it becomes easy to intellectualize, to reduce human suffering to statistics and headlines. But when I imagine the Louvre reduced to rubble, Harvard's historic campus under siege, or the Brandenburg Gate engulfed in conflict, something shifts. Suddenly, the abstract becomes tangible. The distant becomes immediate.

This project is not about equating different conflicts or diminishing any particular struggle. Rather, it is about breaking through the walls of indifference that geography often builds around our empathy. It asks: Why does proximity—whether physical, cultural, or emotional—so often determine the depth of our compassion?

Each video in this collection represents a deliberate act of displacement. By superimposing the reality of Gaza onto these iconic Western sites, I aim to create a moment of recognition—a pause that forces us to see ourselves in others, to acknowledge that the pain of loss, the fear of violence, and the grief of destruction are universal human experiences.

My hope is that viewers will leave this gallery with more than shock or sadness. I hope they leave with questions: What does it mean to be a witness? What are our responsibilities to those suffering beyond our borders? And most importantly: How can we transform empathy into action?

Art cannot solve conflicts, but it can change how we see them—and sometimes, that is where solutions begin.

— The Artist, 2025