Argentinian artist defies govt’s backing of Israel, stands with Palestine

From a young age, Argentine Gustavo Calvet began expressing himself artistically through his diverse drawings and paintings, taking inspiration from films and music.

But it wasn't until several years later that the Buenos Aires resident's "foray" into the art world began to take shape.

Around a decade ago while still a Social Communications student in his early 20s, Calvet says an artist, Patricio Larrambebere, visited his university's art history department.

Larrambebere's talk and presentation underscored the influential role art could play in exploring sociopolitical issues. The event showcased a series of works exploring Argentina's decline during its 1990 neoliberal government.

Former president Carlos Menem's government introduced wholesale free-market reforms, privatising public utilities while pegging the Argentine peso to the US dollar. Foreign investment curbed inflation, increasing output, but it led to mass unemployment.

Calvet recalls how the tumultuous period in Argentine society drove the country's industry and factories to "extinction." The Latin American nation went on to experience its biggest debt default in history - as Argentines experienced “major hardships” with 5.2 million people sliding into poverty.

"That was a turning point for me," Calvet tells TRT World.

He says the experience helped to instil in him the role art could play in raising awareness of social issues, before going on to produce his first works.

Calvet’s first series of paintings explored neglected aspects of landscape and identity around his home of Moreno on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. His later work 'Interiormente' (Inwardly) included metaphysical and reflective elements, more in line with surrealism.

"Some of these works contained a social message such as class inequality (and) poverty generated by the capitalist system based on the repeated actions of governments at the mercy of the bourgeois class," Calvet says.

Today, he sees himself as an artist in the "bricolage" tradition, reliant on the resources available to him for his projects.

"I delve into different ways of expressing myself - it's a search essentially where the message (and) content matter more than the form or style," Calvet says.

Sometimes, he says, it involves exploring contradictory artistic styles, providing an emotional underpinning.

Calvet says it leads to a "more direct" message in his works.

For the last three years, he has also married his artwork to his activism, becoming a member of Social Workers' Movement (MST), a political party in Argentina.

Denouncing ‘genocide’

While MST has a footprint across Argentina, it also expresses its solidarity towards the Palestinians' fight against Israeli occupation.

Since the Hamas attack on October 7, Israel has launched an indiscriminate bombardment campaign and a ground invasion, killing around 30,000 Palestinians.

Amid the onslaught in the besieged enclave, Calvet says members like him stand "in full solidarity" with Palestinians in Gaza.

MST, alongside a range of organisations and social movements, has taken to the streets of Buenos Aires since October 7, 2023. They marched to Congress while displaying a large Palestinian flag to denounce the situation.

While underscoring the imperialistic nature of Zionism, Calvet believes it is not a war as much of the mainstream media seeks to portray it.

Instead, the artist calls it a "genocide of women and children.”

Last year, during Argentina's presidential elections, Calvet says much of Argentina has been influenced by the media's portrayal of events in Gaza and declarations by the far-right president, Javier Milei. Recently Argentina’s leader consolidated his position with recent trips to Israel and the US.

Calvet feels more broadly that the mainstream media narrative omits the reality of the long-standing Israeli "occupation."

"What's happening is a genocide and ethnic cleansing by the Zionist State of Israel, obviously supported by capitalist-imperialist world powers that endorse occupation and state terrorism," he says.

Calvet believes only alternative media spaces include the full weight of the onslaught in Gaza in their coverage.

In the besieged enclave, he describes the "remarkable work" and sacrifice of reporters on the ground amid the "barbarities" towards children that he says have not been seen since dark chapters in history, such as scenes from WW2.

Like parts of the world, he believes it is about educating the public about what is happening in Gaza.

"I believe that the Argentine people are supportive; we just need to raise awareness among more and more people," he says.

On a personal level, Calvet says he has been aware of the Palestine-Israel question since his youth.

Later as an activist, his understanding grew after attending various solidarity talks.

They involved prominent figures from the country raising their voice regarding the ethnic cleansing that began in 1948 when Zionist militias forcibly displaced at least 750,000 Palestinians to establish the State of Israel.

"I deepened my activism by participating with my colleagues in activities to raise awareness, especially taking to the streets in Buenos Aires to demand that the Argentine Government break relations with Israel," Calvert says.

Palestinian solidarity in art

Over a month after the Israeli onslaught on Gaza was in full effect, moved by what they were seeing, Calvet and his colleagues decided to highlight "the genocide" in art.

They chose a prominent position in his hometown neighbourhood of Moreno – the stairs of a highly frequented train station.

The group believed the prominent position would allow greater exposure, raising awareness and making the public reflect on events over 12,000km away in the Middle-East.

The group set about coming up with an image. They then sketched an outlying framework which was copied onto the wall.

As the image began to take shape, several colleagues from different walks of life, including teachers, healthcare workers, and locals, collaborated in the painting process.

Others got involved in raising awareness by handing out different information such as leaflets about events in Gaza and the Palestinian cause.

Calvet says the group decided upon the image of a Palestinian child staring at a camera.

"In the mural, we are seeking to represent someone looking out and questioning what they're seeing," says Calvet, referencing the destruction of Gaza’s social fabric.

In the image, the child dons the traditional scarf or keffiyeh, traditionally worn by members of the Palestinian community and today symbolic of Palestinian identity and resistance.

The child lifts his hand towards the sky while raising a flag of Palestine, amid the writing which accompanies the image calling for Palestine to be free.

Calvet explains there is a symbolic idea of hope amid the profound bleakness, explaining how the child is turning his back to the sunset in the background to “see the light of dawn."

The bricolage artist explains the deeper meaning hinges on the idea of peace emerging from the defeat of the imperialist "oppressor," paving the way for the construction of a Palestinian State.

"The work remains intact to this day, and to a certain degree, the image is travelling the world," says Calvet, referencing how it has gone viral across the globe on social media.

The artist says he and his colleagues will continue to denounce those like Milei’s government for their support of Israel.

"We stand in solidarity and support the (Palestinian) resistance and its fight for the self-determination of its people. And we also repudiate any act of complicity carried out by many governments, such as the Argentine state, supporting the indiscriminate killing perpetuated by the Zionist state of Israel," Calvet says.

As widespread starvation is also impacting Palestinians in the south of Gaza since their forced displacement, Calvet says his wish is for his artwork and its wider message to reach those Palestinians who need warmth and a message of hope the most.

For now he is determined to continue to educate others about the barbarism Palestinians face through his art.

"Resistance in the midst of so much darkness is what maintains hope. Art is a means to express and raise awareness."