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For Syrian-Born Artist, "Remodeling the Destruction" of Civil War Is Dark, But Hopeful

Think of them like magic portals: tiny architectural models transporting you directly onto Syria's streets and forcing you to look at the bombed-out buildings and homes hit by the worst of that country's civil war.

"The more realistic the model is, the more engaged your viewer is," said MohamadHafez, a Syrian-born architect raised in Saudi Arabia and educated in the U.S. 

Hafez describes his work as "remodeling the destruction" of his homeland's civil war -- channeling all the despair, and hope, he sees embedded in that conflict.

"To make such work, to make it look believable and realistic, I have to immerse myself in what's going on back home," said Hafez. "Sometimes I collapse, looking at what I've created."

In one piece, "His Royal Highness II" (pictured above) a palatial building sits directly atop a bombed out village -- two slices of living in war-torn Syria that Hafez bisects with a layer of dirt and rotted roots.

Hafez said the architectural contrast illustrates how a dictatorship uses its force to sustain its power. "It is dark. There is nothing happy about a civil war or seeing destruction of your own nation," he said. "However, the work imbues ... sort of a subtle hope and a brighter future for the generations to come."

Credit Mohamad Hafez / The Harts Gallery
/
The Harts Gallery
"Un-faced," a model by Hafez, incorporates an Arabic graffiti phrase from the Qu' ran. It roughly translates as, "Think not that God doth not heed the deeds of those who do wrong. He but giveth them respite against a Day when the eyes will fixedly stare in horror."

It's something Hafez accomplishes through inspiring verses from the Qu'ran, which are rebelliously embedded in the streetscapes as colorful graffiti.

"You know, I cannot be there on [the] ground to give my condolences and my support in person," said Hafez. "But I can make a piece that shows so much destruction and graffiti on one of the walls, a very simple phrase that gives them hope."

The exhibition, entitled "Unsettled Nostalgia," is on view at The Harts Gallery at 20 Bank Street in New Milford until February 27.

Patrick Skahill is a reporter and digital editor at Connecticut Public. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. He can be reached at pskahill@ctpublic.org.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.