Homeland inSecurity

A Syrian artist and architect, Mohamad Hafez was born in Damascus, raised in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and educated in the Midwestern United States. Expressing the juxtaposition of East and West within him, Hafez’s art reflects the political turmoil in the Middle East through the compilation of found objects, paint and scrap metal. Using his architectural skills, Hafez creates surrealistic Middle Eastern streetscapes that are architectural in their appearance yet politically charged in their content.

Responding to the atrocities of the Syrian war, Hafez’s recent work depicts cities besieged by civil war to capture the magnitude of the devastation and to expose the fragility of human life. However, in deliberate contrast to the violence of war, his art imbues a subtle hopefulness through its deliberate incorporation of verses from the Holy Quran. At the core of Hafez’s work, the verses offer a distinct contrast between the stark pessimistic reality of destruction and the optimistic hope of a bright future. Scenes reiterate narratives from the Qur’an to affirm that, even during the darkest of times, patience is necessary for the blossoming of life and that, eventually, justice will prevail.

Hafez work reflects his deep interest in the cross-disciplinary exploration of street art and the realistic, yet ironic sculptural work. He purposefully infuses a stark contrast between the scenes he creates and the messages imbued in his work. Messages could be verses from the holy Qur’an, audio recordings from his homeland, or other elements of Islamic heritage reflected in the architectural typography. Qur’anic calligraphy is presented as spray painted acts of revolutionary protest or as an audio loop from a hidden source to defy the iron fist of dictatorship regimes in the region.

His artwork has recently been featured in four highly acclaimed exhibitions and profiled in Connecticut Public Radio and The New Yorker.

I feel a great responsibility to use my artwork as way to communicate on behalf of refugees who have not had circumstances as fortunate as mine. I want to use this platform that I have in the West to advocate for those that are deeply suffering. You don’t risk life and limb, the life of your beloved children, by crossing the sea in a flimsy flotation device in the dead of night unless the sea has become safer than the ground you are escaping. My art is a way for me to convey that refugees are normal human beings, with families and dreams and aspirations, just like any American. My art is a voice for the Syrian refugees, for Muslim Americans, for forced migrants. I understand the fear of the unknown. But I hope people will come to my exhibits, perhaps meet me and talk about my work with me, and lets find the common ground that connects us all as human beings.

Mohamad Hafez website