“Still to be Settled” 2020
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois

MFA Thesis Statement

Aleppo, my home city has suffered great losses during the Syrian civil war. The sculptures I make narrate aspects of the war and its impact on the city, its displaced peoples, and myself. Aleppo is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities of the world, some of its heritage sites were shelled beyond recognition. My work mourns the losses of the city and my loss of the city. My personal research relies on learning about the architectural development of Aleppo, collecting images of monuments before the war, as well as gathering the stories of family members and friends affected by the war. I do this to help me and others remember what it was like, to not be lost in the aftermath of war.

Aleppo was one of the key centers on the silk trading route from the 3rd millennium BC until the 18th century. During the twelfth and thirteenth century, Aleppo witnessed a vibrant economic and architectural development. Schools, bazaars, courtyard houses, commercial centers, and pious institutions were erected in accordance with a unique building tradition.

Music is part of the history and present of Aleppo, and a form of sang poetry, “Muwashahat” is the most popular in the city. They consist of five stanzas, alternating a refrain with a running rhyme. Musically, the ensemble consists of lute (oud) spike fiddle, (qanun), goblet drum (darabukkah), and tambourine (daf). Songs are still sung in the same manners and with the same instruments. It is speculated that the tradition of singing developed in a musically favorable environment. The tall walls made of big blocks of stones encompassing open courtyards produced echoes and amplified the sounds. Craftsmen sang while they worked, the mason hitting and shaping the stones would sing and toil to the rhythm of the music.

I use lyrics to Syrian folk songs as elements of ornamentation on sculpture and furniture pieces. The lyrics are diverse, however “ya layl, ya layl” (O night, O night), or “ya layl, ya win” (O night, O eye) are repeated more often, usually in the opening of a song, the repetition of the sentence allows the singer to begin the song and vocalize the feelings expressed in the lyrics. They are confiding in the solitude of the night. “Ya layl, ya layl” sets the emotion of a song, it could be slow-paced, melancholic but also can transform into an upbeat chant to dance too.

“House on a Dream” is a chest of drawers on stand. The stand is inspired by the Ghazaleh house, one of the historic palaces heavily destroyed by dropped barrel bombs and fighting. The cross brace of the stand is a scaled layout of one of the facades that no longer exist. The drawer pulls are carved in Arabic reading ““ya laylee” (O my night) repeating on all four drawers in a manner to illustrate the pace in which the words are sung. The first drawer is adorned with five repetitions of the word, as it was sung faster, while the text stretches gradually over the rest of the drawers.

I view this process as a way to communicate the beauty of these songs, their past, and presence in modern-day Aleppo. Rendering the sang words into three-dimensional objects gives them an accessible form and presence. This enshrinement gives permanence to the ephemeral. To me, this invokes the essence of a place I seek to share with the world.

My experience of the Syrian conflict is through shared stories from friends, family members, the internet, and news sources. While one direction of my work revolves around nostalgia for Aleppo, making work about the war narrative is inevitable. There is powerlessness in experiencing and observing the turn of events, especially when facing a world that offers fragmented news without perspective and objectiveness. I seek to relay the human experience of those affected by the conflict, shine a light on the stories forgotten or never told.

“Surface Tension” represents Earth transforming into a planet of water, illustrating the fate of those who were escaping danger and seeking a safe shelter. The globe is surrounded by a cast-iron representation of a capsized ship. In Arabic, “Right to Asylum- Land of Safety” is modeled on a capsized boat. The words would be considered a human right for all, however, they have been negated by the tragedies of refugees drowning at sea and the neglect of the world towards them. The base of the sculpture suggests that the globe is a droplet of water that broke the surface tension of the water and bounced back to the top. The tragedy of the Syrian conflict isn’t unique, as the conflict occurs continuously across the world. Are there consequences to the atrocities committed or only negligible ripples?

The architecture of Medieval Aleppo illustrates the unique development of Islamic architecture and urban life. Stones were the main building material, largely using yellow limestone and interlacing it with white limestone and/or black basalt for ornamentation and contrast. This type of ornamentation can be referred to as “Interlaced Polychrome Masonry” (Tabbaa, 1997 p.118). It is usually found on portals and above windows. The stones are skillfully cut into geometric patterns and fitted together. Growing up in Aleppo, I was fortunate to frequent many historical sites as they were well preserved and continuously used as residences, hotels, shops, and schools. I remember being in awe of their ornamental elements executed with high craftsmanship. The traditional courtyard houses provide privacy from the outside world but an open space for the family. The courtyard is comprised of a water fountain at the center, surrounded by different seating areas and sections to the house. The courtyard floors are paved in intricate geometric patterns. Trees and plants are abundant in space. Stone ornamentation reflects the environment of the house. I have reproduced some of these masonry designs in cast iron and wood, but also created pieces that are inspired by some of the qualities of these ornamentations along with personal interpretations.

In my piece “Profile Drift” I used some of the characteristics of the interlaced polychrome masonry relating to the contrasting colors and geometric aesthetic. The sculpture is made of eight sections of walnut and maple wood, interlaced together to form a disk. The first section of the disk is a replica of my face profile, the following pieces imitate it while getting gradually distorted beyond recognition. I made this piece reflecting over the loss of a part of my identity to separation from my home city. With no time frame for the end of the war, time feels circular, the present moment progresses into regression, entrapment in this emotional loop causes regression and confusion, especially when facing the rest of the world that carries on.

Unesco estimates that over ten percent of historic sites were destroyed. “But It is not just the stones that have been destroyed. The soul of the city has been shattered.” (Cristofoli 2019). The restoration of memory is as important as the reconstruction of buildings. I aim to make work that truly portrays the city and shares the memory of its vibrance, architecture, lights, music, and people. I wish for the viewer of my work to experience what it’s like to be at the heart of the ancient modern city and to contemplate the loss of a major cultural center in a globalized war that removes entire populations from their homes without resolution or attention.

REFERENCES

Connaughton, Chantal (2019) Aleppo: A first Step towards Healing. The Unesco

Courrier. https://unesdoc.unesco.org

Cristofoli, Jean-Claude David. (2019) Alep La Maison Ghazale. Parenthèses

Tabbaa, Yasser. (1997). Construction of Power and Piety in Medieval Aleppo.

Penn State Press