GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — An exhibition of works by photographer Mahmoud “Ezz” al-Zaanoun has been traveling around the Gaza Strip since Sept. 25, starting at the Beach camp. However, his images depicting a Gaza most people never imagine aren't hanging on the walls of a gallery or museum, but on clotheslines strung in the alleys of the poorest and most populated refugee camps in Gaza and in neighborhoods devastated by war with Israel.

Under the banner “Arts Are Not a Business,” Zaanoun goes to devastated areas and marginalized camps to affirm that the arts are the best tool for delivering the message to Israel that Palestinians have a love for life and can use the simplest of tools to create joy.

For his exhibits, Zaanoun enlists the help of local Palestinian children to attach regular clothesline to the sides of buildings and walls and hang his photos from them. After they finish the installation, the children take a closer look at the images, and Zaanoun explains the details of each one, such as where and how they were taken, and answers the children's questions about them.

“I have been taking photos for 10 years, but I have never taken part in any exhibitions in Gaza, nor have I posted them on social media, like photographers usually do,” Zaanoun told Al-Monitor. “I do not want my photos to be exhibited in private galleries like other photographers, as only a certain class of people visits them. I wanted them to be pinned on clotheslines to allow the largest number of people to view them.”