CINCINNATI — The impact of the violence raging from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is hitting close to home for some, and an Ohio man with family in the midst of the conflict and a local artist teamed up to speak out.
For six days, Antwain Shawhuff, who goes by the artist name Paris Abstract, has been painting a mural on the top side of a building on Cincinnati’s North Side.
“I’ve probably done around a good 40 murals,” said Abstract, “I freehand these [designs] with my bare hand,” he said.
Every mural he does, he said he leaves behind his signature.
“The swirls are my signature design,” he said.
But the mural he’s working on has another message that’s much louder than what’s around him. It has the Palestinian flag in the center.
“It’s a personal thing for me, you know, that’s my people,” said business owner Mohammad Bayyari.
Bayyari hired Abstract to paint the mural on the top of his real estate building after Bayyari saw the violence happening where he and his family are from.
It’s the reason he can’t go to see his family in person, but he hopes this will open people’s eyes.
“I’m hoping many Palestinian voices can be heard, and not just Palestinian, but anybody that supports just human race,” said Bayyari.
