In The Last Passage

A powerful new solo exhibition by Gaza-born artist Khaled Jarada exploring exile, memory, and the Palestinian experience through comic art, drawing, painting, animation, installation, and contemporary practice. About The Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF) is this autumn presenting In the Last Passage, a powerful new solo exhibition by Gaza-born artist Khaled Jarada. Running from 1 October to 14 November 2026 at Cross Lane Projects Gallery in Kendal, this exhibition offers a profound exploration of exile, memory, and the enduring Palestinian experience, told through comic art. Developed between Gaza and Paris from 2019 to 2026, In the Last Passage showcases the rich variety of Jarada's artistic practice, seamlessly bridging the worlds of contemporary art and graphic storytelling through drawing, painting, animation, installation, and comics. The exhibition takes its title from Mahmoud Darwish's poignant poem, The Earth is Closing on Us, in which the "last passage" emerges as the defining condition of being Palestinian: "The Earth is closing on us / pushing us through the last passage / and we tear off our limbs to pass through." It is from within this restrictive, emotional space that Jarada's distinct lines and narratives begin. Visitors will be guided through a selection of works spanning various projects that confront the heavy, recurring themes of Jarada's life and practice: chronic waiting, displaced memories, exile, and the complex psychological experience of being physically in, but not truly of, a place. In the Last Passage is supported by the ARMO Trust and using public funding by Arts Council England, with additional backing from the UK Government. Born in 1996 in Gaza, Palestine, Khaled Jarada's practice captures figures caught within unfolding moments. His compositions are marked by a quiet tension: bodies appear off-balance, restless, and subtly displaced, inhabiting spaces that feel both immediate and estranged. At times, these precarious arrangements carry a muted, almost wry humour—gestures that hover between awkwardness and intention. Jarada's exploration of this condition is deeply informed by his experience of exile. Born and raised in Gaza and recently moved to Paris, he engages the emotional and spatial dislocations of displacement while resisting fixed structures or singular narratives. Instead, he turns his attention to the overlooked—mundane gestures, peripheral spaces, and fleeting encounters—elevating them into sites of contemplation, care, and quiet idealization. Jarada has presented solo exhibitions including Réflexes at Gallery M, Paris (2025); In-Between at Teatro do Bairro, LEFFEST, Lisbon (2024); and Non-Key Frame at Fann À Porter, Dubai (2024). In 2026, he received an Honorary Mention for the Reiffers Art Initiatives Prize. A guided tour of In The Last Passage will be held on Saturday 3 October 2026 from 2:30–3:30pm. Meet one of the most celebrated young artists from Gaza, Khaled Jarada, and experience a guided tour led by one of Palestine's cultural experts George Al Ama who will be joining LICAF from Bethlehem. Free. Read more Toggle Installation Film / Video Painting Drawing Mixed media