Abstract
The International Wall in West Belfast was painted in early 2024, featuring art created by Palestinian artists and executed on the wall by Irish Republican muralists. The genre of Irish Republican-Palestinian solidarity art is a decades long tradition. Irish Republicans and Palestinians have a shared history of struggle for independence under occupation. This relationship was the impetus for the solidarity genre to form in West Belfast, a stronghold for Irish Republicans during the Troubles, and the site of the International Wall murals. The 2024 series is a departure from the traditional genre, using many of the same symbols, such as flags, hands, slogans, and kuffiyehs, that are seen in historic murals, but in a different way. This shift in the visual conversation gives new meaning to the images and symbols of solidarity muralism. This research uses a semiotics approach to understanding the murals. Through analyzing the meaning of the images and symbols found in older solidarity murals, we can understand how the 2024 mural series makes small changes that reinterpret the symbols in a new context. By using the original designs of Palestinian artists, the Irish Republican muralists amplify the voices of marginalized people, and create a shift in visual language of solidarity art that represents a more authentic message for the contemporary world.