(Zaman al-Wasl)- Painting telling a story of a woman emerging from under the rubble and her face covered in blood and dust by the mixed media artist Syrian Husam Aloum went viral on social media.
Human rights advocate Anwar Malik called the painting “Syria Lisa” (merging Syria and Mona Lisa) said: “The painting embodies the legend of the revolution which sparked tears and spilled blood in Syria which enviers from all over the world have piled on to.”
The artist, Aloum, recounts to Zaman al-Wasl as he is busy following news of Aleppo on Facebook, saying “The hashtags that were inaugurated for the tragedy in Aleppo, and contained within it- as he says- anger and frustration about what is happening, and he found only painting as a means to express the pain inside of him and let out the pressure that he felt he was under. When he saw the image of the woman of Aleppo emerging from under the rubble, he found in it, as he says, a strange state that is known existent in other scenes of daily pain in Syria.”
He added: “The woman was breathing blood when the photograph was taken and she was not screaming as is required in situations like this but was trying to catch her breath through her mouth because blood had filled her nose. She resembled the status of someone on the verge of death who opens his mouth to inhale his last breath or in a state of what is called Spirit Exit”.
Aloum woke up to news of death and destruction in the city of Aleppo and when he saw the images of martyrs and wounded he felt what was close to a nervous breakdown and an internal crack, he says “I tried to sleep but I was unable to. I did not find a way to vent my anger and sorrow which I felt except by painting and thus came the painting called later one “Syria Lisa” as a result of the mountain of worries, sorrow, and pain inside of me.”
The artist, Aloum, highlighted that he does not work according to fashion or obligations of a sponsor but paints about the Syrian situation indicating he has artistic projects about the disfiguration that we are living as Syrians as we do not live as regular human beings. The creator of Syria Lisa indicated that he painted the painting as a visual contribution and did not expect that it would go.
He expressed his relief to have the painting circulated because he is able through the painting to unlock his voice in his own special way.
Regarding the name of the painting “Syria Lisa”, or icon of this age, the artist Husam Aloum noted that “The Mona Lisa is the artistic icon of the Renaissance period, and it was an expression of the life of luxury and creativity which Leonardo Da Vinci painted. Da Vinci used to play music for the model so that she would not get bored while she was painted. Our icon today is an icon of war, destruction, and ashes.”
Aloum indicated that is working today on what is called, “ash art” after our feelings have been burned and there is nothing left of them except ash even in our celebration- as he says- have turned into ash.
Husam Aloum is a Syrian artist born in 1986 in Suwayda south of Syria. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus in 2011 with a specialization in photography and oil painting. He participated in many exhibitions in European countries including Holland during the exhibition “Syria Our Home”, as well as Belgium and Germany.
He participated in an artistic auction for the children of Syria that was held in Dubai in 06/06/2016 as well as participating in 2014 in painting the largest painting in the world entitled “Angels of Syria” that was painted with the names of 12 thousand 490 children from Syria. (Translation by Rana Abdul)
Human rights advocate Anwar Malik called the painting “Syria Lisa” (merging Syria and Mona Lisa) said: “The painting embodies the legend of the revolution which sparked tears and spilled blood in Syria which enviers from all over the world have piled on to.”
The artist, Aloum, recounts to Zaman al-Wasl as he is busy following news of Aleppo on Facebook, saying “The hashtags that were inaugurated for the tragedy in Aleppo, and contained within it- as he says- anger and frustration about what is happening, and he found only painting as a means to express the pain inside of him and let out the pressure that he felt he was under. When he saw the image of the woman of Aleppo emerging from under the rubble, he found in it, as he says, a strange state that is known existent in other scenes of daily pain in Syria.”
He added: “The woman was breathing blood when the photograph was taken and she was not screaming as is required in situations like this but was trying to catch her breath through her mouth because blood had filled her nose. She resembled the status of someone on the verge of death who opens his mouth to inhale his last breath or in a state of what is called Spirit Exit”.
Aloum woke up to news of death and destruction in the city of Aleppo and when he saw the images of martyrs and wounded he felt what was close to a nervous breakdown and an internal crack, he says “I tried to sleep but I was unable to. I did not find a way to vent my anger and sorrow which I felt except by painting and thus came the painting called later one “Syria Lisa” as a result of the mountain of worries, sorrow, and pain inside of me.”
The artist, Aloum, highlighted that he does not work according to fashion or obligations of a sponsor but paints about the Syrian situation indicating he has artistic projects about the disfiguration that we are living as Syrians as we do not live as regular human beings. The creator of Syria Lisa indicated that he painted the painting as a visual contribution and did not expect that it would go.
He expressed his relief to have the painting circulated because he is able through the painting to unlock his voice in his own special way.
Regarding the name of the painting “Syria Lisa”, or icon of this age, the artist Husam Aloum noted that “The Mona Lisa is the artistic icon of the Renaissance period, and it was an expression of the life of luxury and creativity which Leonardo Da Vinci painted. Da Vinci used to play music for the model so that she would not get bored while she was painted. Our icon today is an icon of war, destruction, and ashes.”
Aloum indicated that is working today on what is called, “ash art” after our feelings have been burned and there is nothing left of them except ash even in our celebration- as he says- have turned into ash.
Husam Aloum is a Syrian artist born in 1986 in Suwayda south of Syria. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus in 2011 with a specialization in photography and oil painting. He participated in many exhibitions in European countries including Holland during the exhibition “Syria Our Home”, as well as Belgium and Germany.
He participated in an artistic auction for the children of Syria that was held in Dubai in 06/06/2016 as well as participating in 2014 in painting the largest painting in the world entitled “Angels of Syria” that was painted with the names of 12 thousand 490 children from Syria. (Translation by Rana Abdul)
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.