issue 6
// art
Title: We Stand With Palestine
Artist: Hayf Farsoun Abichahine
about the piece
| “We Stand with Palestine” Photograph taken November 2025 on the unceded lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ Nations 11″ x 14″ digital image | available for purchase as art print | http://www.hayfphotography.ca My compass. Love and rage. On the streets and in our hearts. What we wear matters. How we show up matters. Palestinian children matter. All children matter. “We Stand with Palestine” is a part of Hayf’s first solo exhibition, “Love letters from Turtle Island to Palestine,” and is a response to enduring realities of occupation, displacement, and resistance by Palestinians and Indigenous peoples around the world. A parent, a teacher, and an advocate – the subject of this photo reminds us that resistance is a shared language spoken across histories, land, and borders. On her chest, she wears an “Every Child Matters” sweatshirt and on her head “We Stand with Palestine”, art designed by Heiltsuk Nation artist and hereditary chief, Ian Reid for Firekeepers Collective. Firekeepers Collective, owned by Hayf is a collective of Palestinian and Indigenous artists creating bold designs for justice, land sovereignty, and human rights. http://www.firekeeperscollective.com for more info |
about the artist // Hayf Farsoun Abichahine
| Hayf (Palestinian/Lebanese) was born in Beirut and raised as an uninvited guest on the unceded lands of the šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmaɁɬ təməxʷ, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ nations. Hayf has always found joy, community, and solidarity in creative expression – writing and performing music from a young age. In 2024, he was fired from Vancouver Coastal Health because of his past expressions of Palestinian solidarity in his private life, a blatant act of anti-Palestinian racism that ended his thriving career in equity, diversity and inclusion and destabilized his life. Hayf dove deeper into his documentary photography, applying the same principles of equity and inclusion to his art. His practice now spans a wide range of mediums including leatherwork, digital design, sewing, and printmaking. Hayf lives in East Vancouver with his two kids – together they love singing, making art, and building entire worlds of lego. Hayf dreams of a day when the three of them can walk through the streets of Haifa – the city where his Jedo was born and raised. |
Instagram: @hayf_photography & @firekeeperscollective
Websites:
http://www.hayfphotography.ca
http://www.firekeeperscollective.com
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