Abdul-Karim Majdal Al-Beik's creativity reflects a wisdom and sensibility beyond his years. Born and raised on the outskirts of Al-Hasakeh, Al-Beik grew up in a tiny village consisting of seven houses built of mud, brick and straw. He has also walked around the streets of old Damascus, observing and feeling the walls; how they differ from those of his childhood but how they are also vessels of reminiscence. Al-Beik explains: "Every alley is bound to have a 'Saeed loves Samira' kind of graffiti on its walls, a spray-painted arrow to some place, a 'For rent' sign, or the daubs of letters and numbers by the neighborhood's children,". Al-Beik adds: "Walls drink in the history of a place; I am trying to portray the passage of time".
