Wissam Al-Jazairy

The Syrian revolution inspired a new generation of dissident artists, driven by rage, horror, determination and hope. Al-Jazairy, 23, is one of them. Born in Damascus, he graduated in 2011 from the University of New Bulgaria in digital arts and started political drawing following the outbreak of Syrian revolution. “I decided to work for the revolution, following the storming of Al Omari Mosque in Daraa in April 2011. I tried to resort to Metaphysics to express my ideas, in order to reach the unconscious mind rather than the traditional and ordinary political design,” he told Global Voices. After his studies in Sofia, Bulgaria, he returned home to stand against Al-Assad’s regime. The death threats he received didn’t stop him: Al-Jazairy, who currently lives in Michigan, still creates revolution posters and shares them on social networks. He draws or uses pictures captured by people, and transforms bombings, torture and death into pieces of art. Al-Jazairy is currently a member of the Executive Office of the Syrian Democratic Platform and has exhibited art in several shows (including exhibits in the United States, Egypt, Britain, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Kuwait, Germany, Italy and Denmark) to support the movement for peace.

[Click on photos for caption]

• The Scream, the Syrian Version | Inspired by Edvard Munch
• Dancers and the dictator
• City of love in a time of war
• A child from Syira
• A forbidden marriage
• Bombs in the rain
• Creation of Adam, the Syrian version | Inspired by Michelangelo