When an Image Wouldn’t Leave Me

Written By Hala Kattab

The Cry That Remained · September 2026

A photograph of a young girl crying in a war zone stayed with me. I couldn't change what I had seen, but I could respond in the way I know, through art.

I began creating this mixed-media collage using torn newspaper, fragments of words, layers of paint, texture and marks. I didn't have a carefully planned composition. I simply started working and allowed the layers to build around her.

As I worked, her face became the quiet centre amongst all that movement.

I wasn't trying to reproduce the photograph perfectly. The painting became my response to seeing a child caught in circumstances no child should have to understand.

Sometimes I paint because I have an idea. Sometimes I paint because an image touches me so deeply that I simply need somewhere to put the feeling.

This was one of those times.

Hala Kattab

I’m a self-taught artist and business owner in Cairns, creating colourful, emotion-filled paintings that reflect my love for growth and creativity. Art is my escape and my expression, inspired every day by my life as a mum and grandmother, roles that bring me strength, joy, and endless inspiration.

https://www.resiliencethroughart.com.au
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