Damascus, Sept. 3 (SANA) The olive tree takes center stage as a symbol of land, identity, generosity and resilience in Syrian visual artist Zamzam Taysir al-Hajj’s exhibition “The Blessed Olive,” which brings together visual art, cultural memory and Syrian-Jordanian women’s cultural cooperation.
Held Thursday at the People’s Hall in Damascus, the exhibition features works inspired by the olive tree as more than a natural element. In al-Hajj’s visual experience, it becomes a memory of place, a symbol of rootedness and belonging, and a means of exploring people’s relationship with their land and the stories and values passed down through generations.
Olive trees as cultural memory
Al-Hajj chose the olive tree as the central theme of her work because of its deep presence in Syrian and Arab culture and its associations with land, generosity, sustainability and peace.
Through color, line and composition, she transforms the tree into a visual narrative centered on people connected to it, particularly rural women whose work has historically been linked to cultivating olive trees, harvesting their fruit and producing olive oil.
“The exhibition is a visual and cultural embodiment of the relationship between people and their land and blessed tree,” al-Hajj told SANA, describing the olive tree as a deeply rooted symbol of the identity, culture and shared history of the region and an expression of people’s spiritual and geographical connection to the land.
She added that olives and olive oil represent peace, sustainability, continued generosity and resilience, values she seeks to convey through painting and color “with a brush raised on love for Syria, the cradle of the olive tree.”
Art, women and shared heritage
The exhibition also highlights the role of women in preserving the heritage and livelihoods associated with the olive tree. Al-Hajj said art can give voice to working and creative women, bringing their experiences from the agricultural and economic spheres into the cultural sphere.
The participation of a Jordanian women’s delegation, she added, reflects appreciation for artistic and cultural activities linked to the olive sector and creates opportunities for further cooperation between women’s networks in Syria and Jordan.
Al-Hajj previously participated in olive-related events in Jordan as a representative of the Syrian Women’s Network and a member of the Arab Women’s Olive Oil Network, linking her artistic work with heritage, agriculture and women’s empowerment.
Ilham Ahmad al-Kurki, a critic and lecturer at the University of Jordan specializing in language and rhetoric, told SANA that she was pleased to participate in the exhibition. She said she had worked in Jordan on a children’s play linking the olive tree with the heritage of the Arabic language, aiming to foster appreciation for the tree from an early age.
Mohammad Sobhi al-Sayyed Yahya, head of the Syrian Plastic Artists Union, highlighted the special place of the olive tree in the Syrian collective consciousness, citing its religious, cultural and popular significance.
He said the tree is present in Syrians’ daily lives through food and olive oil, traditional industries such as Aleppo soap, and its close connection with land and rural work. Olive trees cover extensive areas of Syria, particularly in Idlib, the Aleppo countryside and Hama, forming part of the country’s agricultural, social and economic landscape.
“The Blessed Olive” thus moves the tree from its natural form into a broader cultural and artistic space, using painting to explore the relationship between people and land while highlighting values of continuity, rootedness, work and resilience.
The exhibition also demonstrates how visual art can serve as a bridge between Syrian and Jordanian cultural communities, giving a shared agricultural heritage a creative expression that extends beyond its economic role to its human and cultural dimensions.
R.D/MF
