Trauma through Syrian eyes : representing the Syrian civil war through art

Abstract

Many graphic images of bodies, homes and Syrian refugees have been splashed all over the newspapers and have flooded our newsfeeds. We consume these images and reports as mere faces and figures. Information flashes by rapidly to shock and evoke pity within us, but just as quickly we move on to the next image or topic. However, on the other hand, works of art – with the likes of sculptures, graffiti and film – are fighting through the media’s white noise and are circulating from galleries to cinemas. Artists negotiate this image in multiple ways: some use it to process their trauma that is sometimes transferred unto viewers, while others use it to prompt reflection and remembrance of the bloody trauma that a country and its people have gone through.