An illustration done by Justin Hook on a shelter in Israel. Photo: supplied
An illustration done by Justin Hook on a shelter in Israel. Photo: supplied
The power of art'It was just crying out to me, calling to me for some colour'

Colour in the darkness

Australian artist Justin Hook is spreading light across Israel, transforming bomb shelters with his art to bring comfort to those living under constant threat.

For Australian artist Justin Hook, it has been an absolute honour and privilege to use his gift to bring light, hope and faith to communities in Israel.

Hook, who refers to himself as Jew-ish thanks to his Jewish stepfather and his mother who has Jewish heritage, has been in Israel painting mamads (shelters), primarily in the north, to bring a little bit of joy to what can be a very scary situation.

Hook told The AJN he fell in love with Israel almost 20 years ago when he first visited.

“I fell in love with the country and its people. I could rave on and on about Israeli culture and just the Middle East, but especially Israel because it’s so centralised around G-d and faith, even in the secular areas,” he said. “It’s the most incredible, mysterious country.”

Hook explained that he never studied art, but he has always been an artist, describing it as a gift he has always had, although it was only around a decade ago that he actually started to invest in it.

“It was always others inspiring me, which I really felt was from G-d, because I didn’t believe I was an artist,” he recalled. “I had to hear it over and over and over before it actually clicked as an identity and a calling.”

Hook was in Israel when the October 7 Hamas-led massacre occurred. He was there for the Feast of Tabernacles and the festival of Sukkot and despite coming back to Australia shortly after the massacre, he felt compelled to go back to help.

An illustration done by Justin Hook on a shelter in Israel. Photo: supplied

“We’ve all tried to be such advocates for what’s really going on here. It’s like the whole world has just been bewitched. It has been a really difficult year … the whole thing has been a big trauma. I wanted to get back here and show support, be with my friends and pray for protection,” he said, explaining that he was in Tiberias when he noticed a brand new mamad built on the side of the road. In his head, he immediately thought that it was ripe for decoration.

“It was just crying out to me, calling to me for some colour, and I just felt compelled to paint it.”

So, he reached out to a friend for some help navigating how to make it all happen. He was told he needed to speak to the mayor.

“He said ‘give me two minutes’, as Israelis do,” Hook laughed. “He made a phone call, and then he got back to me and said ‘Justin, you’re completely authorised … it’s done, you can paint as many as you like in Tiberias.” Hook explained that the city even covered the cost of the paint.

Since that first shelter, Hook has changed his return flight three times.

During the painting process, another friend of Hook’s raised money to install 50 new shelters in the north of Israel next to schools and play centres. She has asked Hook to paint them all.

Hook said that on any given day as he has been painting, he’s had people stopping off offering him jobs in their homes, yeshivas, synagogues and schools, which is incredibly uplifting.

“It was just crying out to me, calling to me for some colour, and I just felt compelled to paint it.”

“I had no idea that what I was doing was going to literally lift the spirits of the people, show my solidarity, show advocacy, and turn something that is so traumatising into something that could have a silver lining or a gold lining,” Hook said. “Being able to do public art where you’re not stuck away in a studio or stuck away in your apartment when nobody sees you, you’ve got people engaging with you, they’re watching the process and it’s having a lasting effect on an entire community. I can’t tell you anything more that is bringing me so much pleasure, and also what an honour.”

An illustration done by Justin Hook on a shelter in Israel. Photo: supplied

When October 7 happened, Hook felt a desperate need to help the country. Through his art, he is indeed helping the nation, simply by putting smiles on people’s faces.

“Every time I leave Israel, I feel torn because I love it so much here. I felt so torn because I couldn’t help, I wanted to do something, pack clothes for the soldiers, serve or pick fruit where people couldn’t pick fruit. I wanted to do something because I know the call of this nation, and I know the Israeli people. You guys have been struggling for a long time. And I just want to let everyone know you’re not alone.”

Hook also said he hopes his art serves as a bridge builder.

“We’ve been fighting on so many different fronts, and I just feel that one of the things I never would have expected my art to do, or my gift of art or painting the shelters to do, I really just want to be a bridge builder for the truth,” he said, explaining that the arts have a huge amount of power.

When asked what he hopes the shelters do for the communities who will be using them, Hook said he hopes that the Jewish people know they’re not alone.

“I want [art] to be utilised for a righteous purpose and a good purpose and to leave a lasting impact,” he said. “Israel, the Jewish community, we’re not alone. We just need to stand strong and know that G-d’s got us and the best is yet to come.”

Follow Justin Hook on Instagram: @justin_andrew_hook

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