In the Absence of Bombs - Art, War, and Silence

What happens when violence unfolds before our eyes, yet responses hesitate and waver? When institutions—political, academic, cultural—retreat into silence, and even committed artists falter in the face of war?

In the Absence of Bombs investigates this silence. In a time when horror is livestreamed and apathy is institutionalized, this book asks how such paralysis is possible—and how art can contribute to recognition of the unfolding crimes against humanity? How do poets, visual artists, theatre and filmmakers unsettle the spectacle of shock? How can grief become a collective and political force, rather than a privatized void?

Through testimonies from war zones—from Gaza to Kharkiv, Beirut to Brussels—this book composes a polyphonic response to a world that demands clarity but offers none. It does not moralize. It insists. On mourning. On commitment.

- A versatile, in-depth anthology about the influence art and media have on the perception of war, and how artists can use art to illustrate the atrocities of violence around them
- Explores the silence of institutions and (engaged) artists regarding recent geopolitical conflicts and the genocide in Palestine
- With testimonies from artists who did not retreat into silence, from Palestine, Lebanon, Ukraine, amongst others

Editors: Pascal Gielen, Bahia Shehab

Contributors: Diana Al-Halabi, Amir Ashkar, Tammam Azzam, Jan Beddegenoodts, Yousra Benfquih, Marlies De Munck, Naama Shoshana Fogiel Lewin, Lara García Diaz, Pascal Gielen, Mohamed Hijji, Erwin Jans, Mazen Kerbaj, Lara Khaldi, Maha Maamoun, Médecins Sans Frontières, Sohail Salem, Roschanack Shaery-Yazdi, Bahia Shehab, STAN, Walid Taher, Jana Traboulsi, Emily Van Driessen, Annelys de Vet, Gamlet Zinkivskyi