Against the Wall: The Art of Resistance in Palestine [Paperback]

This is a remarkable and deeply human book documenting a vast and ultimately self-defeating act of injustice. Perhaps more importantly, it records a growing series of creative and flexible responses to that injustice an international unity of intent which steps outside the sterile and appalling logic of asymmetric warfare. It is an angry, funny, determined reminder that Nothing Lasts Forever. --A L Kennedy, writer and comedian

William Parry s Against the Wall is a singular achievement both a stunning photographic essay of how Israel s concrete wall has cut into Palestinian land and strangled whole communities and a powerful visual record of how local and international graffiti artists have battered it with their only weapons, paint and spray can. Thumbing through these pages, I could taste the occupation all over again. --Joe Sacco, Political cartoonist

The wall stands as a dreadful symbol of oppression. The spirit of resistance may be strong but Palestinians need international support. I hope this book makes that more likely. --Ken Loach

The wall stands as a dreadful symbol of oppression. The spirit of resistance may be strong but Palestinians need international support. I hope this book makes that more likely. -- Ken Loach This book will help eventually pull down the wall. -- Damon Albarn A singular achievement -- both a stunning photographic essay of how Israel's concrete wall has cut into Palestinian land and strangled whole communities and a powerful visual record of how local and international graffiti artists have battered it with their only weapons, paint and spray cans. -- Joe Sacco, Political cartoonist This is a remarkable and deeply human book documenting a vast and ultimately self-defeating act of injustice. It records a growing series of creative and flexible responses to that injustice -- an international unity of intent which steps outside the sterile and appalling logic of asymmetric warfare. It is an angry, funny, determined reminder that "Nothing Lasts Forever. -- A L Kennedy, writer and comedian Documents Israel's monstrous wall both as a brute instrument of dispossession and as a bearer of resistance. The wall steals Palestinian land and threatens the viability of the lives lived in its shadow and it blooms with messages of solidarity from every corner of the earth. This is the largest protest banner the world has ever known. ...An outstanding example of cultural resistance. -- Ahdaf Soueif A marvellous expose of Palestinian 'Wall Art', evocative and compelling. Those who admired Belfast's resistance wall paintings will revel in this Palestinian version. -- Ghada Karmi, Research Fellow at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, and author of Married to Another Man: Israel's Dilemma in Palestine This book is very beautiful and very ugly. The Wall is very ugly, much of the art on it is very beautiful. This book helps to expose the ugly tyranny of oppression. There is beauty in the resistance of the Palestinian people. The annexation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank is ugly. That many Israelis are joining the resistance against their own government's policies is brave and beautiful. The ugliness of the Wall outweighs the beauty of the rest. This book seeks to redress the balance. -- Roger Waters

This stunning book of photos captures the graffiti and art that has transformed Israel's wall into a living canvas of resistance and solidarity. Featuring the work of artists including Banksy, Ron English, Blu and others, as well as Palestinian artists and activists, these photos express outrage, compassion, and touching humour. They illustrate the wall's toll on lives and livlihoods, showing the hardship it has brought to tens of thousands of people, preventing their access to work, education and vital medical care. Mixed with the photos are portraits and vignettes, offering a heartfelt and inspiring account of a people determined to uphold their dignity in the face of profound injustice.

William Parry is a London-based freelance journalist and photographer who has published in the Guardian, the Independent and elsewhere. He has worked and travelled extensively in the Middle East.