The Weight of Truth: My Painting on the Murder of Jamal Khashoggi
There are certain news stories that lodge themselves in your mind. The headlines fade, the world moves on, but the chilling details remain. For me, the state sanctioned murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 was one of those moments. The calculated brutality of it, the absolute disregard for human life and international law, and the chilling reports of how his body was dismembered and disposed of, it’s a story that demands to be remembered.
This painting is my response. It’s my attempt to distill a complex and horrific event into a single, stark image that viewers can’t easily look away from.
The Symbolism of the Mundane
As an artist, I’m constantly searching for the right visual language to talk about the world we live in. Much like my other work, particularly within my ongoing series 'Everywhere is War,' I often use bold colors and simplified forms to cut through the noise.
In this piece, the composition is deceptively simple: a bright yellow suitcase against a placid blue sky, sitting in a pool of blood.
The suitcase is a mundane object. We associate it with travel, with journeys, with new beginnings or the return home. But in the context of Khashoggi’s murder, it becomes something sinister. It represents the horrifying logistics of disappearance, the clinical effort to package and erase a human being. The bright, almost cheerful yellow contrasts sharply with the grim reality it signifies, creating a sense of deep unease. It’s the banality of evil, rendered in acrylic.
The vibrant red pooling at the bottom is raw and undeniable. It’s the truth of the situation, the violence that can't be packed away or hidden, no matter how clean the cover story. It bleeds beyond the neat confines of the suitcase, staining the ground and refusing to be ignored.
Art's Role as a Permanent Record
The news cycle is relentless. Atrocities occur, they are reported on, and then they are replaced by the next breaking story. Art, however, has the power to slow us down. It creates a permanent record. It serves as a space for contemplation and forces a continued confrontation with uncomfortable truths.
When I learned about the details of Khashoggi’s death, I felt a profound sense of disgust and a responsibility to bear witness. He was a journalist, a truth teller, murdered for the words he wrote and the opinions he held. His death was a direct assault on the freedom of the press and a terrifying message to dissenters everywhere. To remain silent in the face of that feels like a form of complicity.
This painting is not just about one man’s murder. It’s a commentary on the fragility of truth in an age of disinformation and authoritarian power. It’s a memorial for a man who was brutally silenced, and a reminder of the price many pay for daring to speak out.
My hope is that when people see this piece, they pause. I hope they remember Jamal Khashoggi and what he stood for. And I hope they feel, even for a moment, the heavy weight of a truth that refuses to be packed away and forgotten.
