But since the war, and his decision to flee, his paintings have taken on a darker tone. “This painting is about Syrians crossing the sea to go to Europe from Turkey. Frustrated by restrictions he faced as a Syrian in Lebanon, he started to research other places where he might make a new start. I had problems leaving Lebanon, and in El Dorado in Colombia but at Quito I came in no problem. In one, he explains, is a woman who can’ face something in her life, so prefers to stop speaking.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 28, 2021 09:00 UTC