Damascus art installation turns ceramic doves into war symbol

Damascus art installation turns ceramic doves into war symbol

Hundreds of ceramic doves are suspended over the streets of the Old City of Damascus, part of an art installation that had been set to debut before the start of Syria’s war. The lifelike figurines crafted by Buthaina al-Ali, a professor at Damascus University’s faculty of arts, had been gathering dust in a basement since the outbreak of Syria’s conflict in 2011. Eleven years on, the 15,000 ceramic birds are finally airbound, appearing in an exhibition curated by Ali’s students on the woes of Syria’s war. “I had dreamt of decorating the centre of my city and hanging the doves in a crowded place for people to see,” Ali, 48, told AFP. “But the war changed everything, and I had to postpone my dream all this time.”

The exhibition in the Old City of Damascus, curated by 16 students from the faculty of arts, is titled: “Once upon a time, a window.” The art on display deals with the displacement, hunger and helplessness wrought by the country’s bloody civil war. “I finally suggested to my students that they take the doves and hang them in a way they see fit,” said Ali, who lost two family members to the conflict.

Storybook scene

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