Tammam Azzam’s latest show explores the physical and emotional consequences for those who have escaped war-torn Syria.
A pathway lined with rubble gradually turns into an endless pile of concrete pieces, twisted metal and torn clothing, blocking the entire staircase leading to the upper floor of the gallery. This dramatic and heart-wrenching installation conveys the gist of Syrian artist Tammam Azzam’s latest show, “The Road”. Through paintings and digital artworks that depict what has been left behind and what lies ahead in Syria, the artist steers his way through the labyrinth of physical and emotional consequences for those who have escaped their war-torn homeland. His simple yet powerful metaphor of a road that leads nowhere raises questions that everyone must think about.
Azzam is known for his multimedia paintings, especially the “Laundry” series, where he used ropes, clothes pegs and found fabrics to speak about life in his city, Damascus. But since the start of the uprising in Syria in the spring of 2011, he has turned to digital media to create artworks that chronicle the tragic events and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in his country. The artist, who now lives in Dubai, has returned to painting for this exhibition with a series titled “Storeys”.
