The QR code that you just scanned is also a Painting. It will be on view at the exhibition GENOCIDE COMES AS NO SURPRISE organized by Art for Gaza, a group of artists based in Basel.
June 17 to 22, daily 14.00 – 17.00, Finissage with DJ, Saturday 21, 17.00 – 22.00.
OpenArt Galerie, Clarahofweg 12, Hinterhaus, Basel
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In the genocide that followed in the 19-months and counting after October 7 2023, the Israeli Army frequently distributed leaflets to Gazans with a map and a QR code, that would guide them to so-called “Humanitarian Safe Zones.” The QR code on the depicted leaflet (left) opens this web-page with a few cryptic instructions (right). Confusingly, the Arabic text only says: “The israeli defence force distributes a list with block numbers to guide the residents of Gaza to clear the areas.” Once in these ‘safe zones’ Gazans were generally mercilessly bombed with more brutal force than in the places they had left.
Many of these flyers with maps and QR codes have been catalogued by Gaza Maps. The flyer shown here was published by CNN in one of the few mainstream media mentions of this practice.
‘Gideon’s Chariots’ Op. Map, May 17
Raffah Is Only the Beginning, May 20
Over time the flyers have become increasingly bold, advertising ethnic cleansing plans of the entire population, as in the flyer distributed around May 17th. This leaflet depicts the Gideon’s Chariots plan that was announced on the same day. The long straight arrow represents the IOF sweeping into Gaza while the shorter arrow that points out into Israel represents Gaza’s surviving population being expelled to Israel from which they are planned to be deported by air.
The leaflets also became increasingly cynical and open about their genocidal purpose.The text on the second leaflet, distributed on May 20th says “Raffah is only the beginning,” threatening the all-out assault on cooped-up refugees as the IOF had done in Raffah. The image depicts the map of gaza as a chess board with a bloodied hand with a green wristband indicating Hamas reaches for its sole piece that is the green king. Although the chess game may be portrayed as about Hamas, the threat in the text is made directly to the civilian population among whom the flyer is distributed. This implies that for them the continuous movement of ethnic cleansing is a deadly game where people are moved, killed, and sacrificed as pawns.
Moses Splitting the Red Sea, May 18
In this flyer, all pretense is gone and both text and image only constitute a threat of total destruction by superhuman power. The image shows the Red Sea as split in two by Moses in the Old Testament, with IOF insignia on each side. The text reads: “God Almighty said: Then We inspired Moses, “Strike the sea with your staff.” And it parted, and each portion was like a great mountain, O people of Gaza,The Israeli army is coming.” The fact that the text is in English suggests that the real audience here is Israel’s western backers.
The following images were used as reference for the painting Safe Zone. All images link to the original social media post or news article that contains the original photo or video.
Flyers with maps and QR codes will be gradually added here. Source: Gaza Maps.
