THe Other Face of War

The other side of war is a multifaceted journey, a journey that blends pain and liberation, memory and identity, destruction and creation. In my artwork, I used a variety of materials to highlight the transformations I went through at every stage of my life. My tools of expression varied, starting from fabric in Syria, moving through newspapers in Jordan, magazines in Lebanon, and finally wallpaper and maps in Sweden. Each material carried the memory of different moments, countries, and times. Every material was part of the scene and part of my being.

In my piece The Other Side of War, I used maps symbolically. I drew maps of municipalities in Sweden, in addition to Swedish decorative napkins, which are part of the country’s culture and carry deep meanings about place and memory. The maps serve as threads that connect the places I lived: from Syria, to Jordan, to Lebanon, and finally to Sweden.

I used these maps in my work to reflect the continuous journey of change and the idea that every place is part of our evolving identity. Just as the earth turns, we too change. Despite the war, revolution, and migration, my life continued. I had a marriage, a child, friendships, and work. All these small and medium events had a significant impact on the course of my life and my art.

The other side of war also means that life continues, and it is filled with colors. This is what I tried to express through titles representing different aspects of this experience: "Love or War," "Anything is Possible," "Children Play and the Army is Here," and other titles that represent the continuous struggle of humans between pain and hope, destruction and renewal.

The use of varied materials served as a break from traditional artistic boundaries, as well as a break from fear. In Sweden, I began using acrylics, maps, napkins, and other materials that blend both my culture and my new environment. I worked on merging these materials to create paintings that represent shared experiences, experiences that speak to humanity and visual communication, showing that a person is not an isolated individual, but part of a community, part of an interconnected web.

For me, art is a means to express this continuous change, a space for critique and development, and a platform for dialogue about the meaning of existence and humanity in a world undergoing constant shifts.

In the end, art is memory, it is the language that transcends cultural and geographical boundaries. It is the bridge that connects all humans.