Sunday, 9 April 2017

A TRIBUTE TO REFUGEES AT LIGHT CITY BALTIMORE: INTERVIEW WITH VISUAL ARTIST ALAA MINAWI










"When people are forced to leave their country they don't only lose their schools, toys and cars," he says. "They drop their skin, organs and memories. They transform into outlines of human beings."




Photos:
"When I talked to these refugees, I felt they had an aura," says Minawi. "I believe everyone has an aura, has light. And I noticed that they glow with this strong light. I thought this was happening because their stories were trying to come out from their skin."
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"I believed that the Syrians I spoke to wanted to tell their stories so badly it was shining through their skin. I thought, this installation shouldn't have the skin, it shouldn't have the body shape, I should only have an outline that shines which is the story that they have gone through."
Photos:
"I believed that the Syrians I spoke to wanted to tell their stories so badly it was shining through their skin. I thought, this installation shouldn't have the skin, it shouldn't have the body shape, I should only have an outline that shines which is the story that they have gone through."
Hide Caption
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"Minawi hopes that his installation will eventually end up in Germany, where thousands of refugees have been welcomed since last summer. He says: "Now I have a plan for this installation. At the end of the tour I'm going to make an auction. I'm hoping in Germany. I contacted Angela Merkel. I sent her an e-mail, but she hasn't answered yet."
Photos:
"Minawi hopes that his installation will eventually end up in Germany, where thousands of refugees have been welcomed since last summer. He says: "Now I have a plan for this installation. At the end of the tour I'm going to make an auction. I'm hoping in Germany. I contacted Angela Merkel. I sent her an e-mail, but she hasn't answered yet."
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"My message to Europe is, if you have refugees in your country, treat them like human beings-- don't be scared of them. Anyone, anyone in the world could have been through what they have been through. Europe went through this in World War Two- and that wasn't even long ago. So let's be kind to these people and help them."
Photos:
"My message to Europe is, if you have refugees in your country, treat them like human beings-- don't be scared of them. Anyone, anyone in the world could have been through what they have been through. Europe went through this in World War Two- and that wasn't even long ago. So let's be kind to these people and help them."
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Palestinian Alaa Minawi has been working as a light artist in Beirut for over ten years. Working with Syrian refugees as a translator prompted him to create "my light is your light", an installation about the plight of the people he spoke to.
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"The installation represents a family of six," says Minawi. "A father, mother, a grandfather, an aunt and two children. They are walking, leaving their home."
Photos:
"The installation represents a family of six," says Minawi. "A father, mother, a grandfather, an aunt and two children. They are walking, leaving their home."
Hide Caption
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Minawi's installation has toured several cities, including Amsterdam. He says: "I think people want to see the humanitarian side of this conflict. They want to understand that they are real people who are forced to leave their country. Festivals have been very interested in spreading this message."
Photos:
Minawi's installation has toured several cities, including Amsterdam. He says: "I think people want to see the humanitarian side of this conflict. They want to understand that they are real people who are forced to leave their country. Festivals have been very interested in spreading this message."
Hide Caption
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"In Amsterdam, their perception of the art is based more on a humanitarian level. When people were looking at it, they just stood, had a moment of silence and then kept on moving. In Beirut it was a different reaction. Beirut has millions of refugees and we have a cultural connection with the Syrians, so we feel that we are also a part of this conflict, like we're getting affected by it. When we see it, we have the baggage of, we are also going through this and we react in a different way."
Photos:
"In Amsterdam, their perception of the art is based more on a humanitarian level. When people were looking at it, they just stood, had a moment of silence and then kept on moving. In Beirut it was a different reaction. Beirut has millions of refugees and we have a cultural connection with the Syrians, so we feel that we are also a part of this conflict, like we're getting affected by it. When we see it, we have the baggage of, we are also going through this and we react in a different way."
Hide Caption
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"Minawi's grandfather left Palestine in 1948 and sought asylum in Beirut. He says: "When the Syrians were telling me their stories, there were times I thought, maybe my grandfather went through this. Maybe he has gone through one of these stories. I cannot imagine how hard it must be."
Photos:
"Minawi's grandfather left Palestine in 1948 and sought asylum in Beirut. He says: "When the Syrians were telling me their stories, there were times I thought, maybe my grandfather went through this. Maybe he has gone through one of these stories. I cannot imagine how hard it must be."
Hide Caption
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"When I talked to these refugees, I felt they had an aura," says Minawi. "I believe everyone has an aura, has light. And I noticed that they glow with this strong light. I thought this was happening because their stories were trying to come out from their skin."
Photos:
"When I talked to these refugees, I felt they had an aura," says Minawi. "I believe everyone has an aura, has light. And I noticed that they glow with this strong light. I thought this was happening because their stories were trying to come out from their skin."
Hide Caption
6 of 9
"I believed that the Syrians I spoke to wanted to tell their stories so badly it was shining through their skin. I thought, this installation shouldn't have the skin, it shouldn't have the body shape, I should only have an outline that shines which is the story that they have gone through."
Photos:
"I believed that the Syrians I spoke to wanted to tell their stories so badly it was shining through their skin. I thought, this installation shouldn't have the skin, it shouldn't have the body shape, I should only have an outline that shines which is the story that they have gone through."
Hide Caption
7 of 9
"Minawi hopes that his installation will eventually end up in Germany, where thousands of refugees have been welcomed since last summer. He says: "Now I have a plan for this installation. At the end of the tour I'm going to make an auction. I'm hoping in Germany. I contacted Angela Merkel. I sent her an e-mail, but she hasn't answered yet."
Photos:
"Minawi hopes that his installation will eventually end up in Germany, where thousands of refugees have been welcomed since last summer. He says: "Now I have a plan for this installation. At the end of the tour I'm going to make an auction. I'm hoping in Germany. I contacted Angela Merkel. I sent her an e-mail, but she hasn't answered yet."
Hide Caption
8 of 9
"My message to Europe is, if you have refugees in your country, treat them like human beings-- don't be scared of them. Anyone, anyone in the world could have been through what they have been through. Europe went through this in World War Two- and that wasn't even long ago. So let's be kind to these people and help them."
Photos:
"My message to Europe is, if you have refugees in your country, treat them like human beings-- don't be scared of them. Anyone, anyone in the world could have been through what they have been through. Europe went through this in World War Two- and that wasn't even long ago. So let's be kind to these people and help them."
Hide Caption
9 of 9
Palestinian Alaa Minawi has been working as a light artist in Beirut for over ten years. Working with Syrian refugees as a translator prompted him to create "my light is your light", an installation about the plight of the people he spoke to.
Photos:
Palestinian Alaa Minawi has been working as a light artist in Beirut for over ten years. Working with Syrian refugees as a translator prompted him to create "my light is your light", an installation about the plight of the people he spoke to.
Hide Caption
1 of 9
"The installation represents a family of six," says Minawi. "A father, mother, a grandfather, an aunt and two children. They are walking, leaving their home."
Photos:
"The installation represents a family of six," says Minawi. "A father, mother, a grandfather, an aunt and two children. They are walking, leaving their home."
Hide Caption
2 of 9
Minawi's installation has toured several cities, including Amsterdam. He says: "I think people want to see the humanitarian side of this conflict. They want to understand that they are real people who are forced to leave their country. Festivals have been very interested in spreading this message."
Photos:
Minawi's installation has toured several cities, including Amsterdam. He says: "I think people want to see the humanitarian side of this conflict. They want to understand that they are real people who are forced to leave their country. Festivals have been very interested in spreading this message."
Hide Caption
3 of 9
"In Amsterdam, their perception of the art is based more on a humanitarian level. When people were looking at it, they just stood, had a moment of silence and then kept on moving. In Beirut it was a different reaction. Beirut has millions of refugees and we have a cultural connection with the Syrians, so we feel that we are also a part of this conflict, like we're getting affected by it. When we see it, we have the baggage of, we are also going through this and we react in a different way."
Photos:
"In Amsterdam, their perception of the art is based more on a humanitarian level. When people were looking at it, they just stood, had a moment of silence and then kept on moving. In Beirut it was a different reaction. Beirut has millions of refugees and we have a cultural connection with the Syrians, so we feel that we are also a part of this conflict, like we're getting affected by it. When we see it, we have the baggage of, we are also going through this and we react in a different way."
Hide Caption
4 of 9
"Minawi's grandfather left Palestine in 1948 and sought asylum in Beirut. He says: "When the Syrians were telling me their stories, there were times I thought, maybe my grandfather went through this. Maybe he has gone through one of these stories. I cannot imagine how hard it must be."
Photos:
"Minawi's grandfather left Palestine in 1948 and sought asylum in Beirut. He says: "When the Syrians were telling me their stories, there were times I thought, maybe my grandfather went through this. Maybe he has gone through one of these stories. I cannot imagine how hard it must be."
Hide Caption
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(CNN)For Palestinian artist Alaa Minawi, six neon tubes are all it takes to deliver a powerful reminder
 of Europe's refugee crisis.
"When people are forced to leave their country they don't only lose their schools, toys and cars," 
he says. "They drop their skin, organs and memories. They transform into outlines of human beings."
    Minawi, who lives in Lebanon, spent three years working as a translator for Syrian refugees who were 
    applying for asylum in the United States.
    "I heard almost 1,000 stories," he says. "Most of them were traumatizing. For them, this interview 
    is life-changing. It's like the last rope you throw to a drowned person. My own perception of life changed 
    after these interviews. You appreciate life differently, you see how these people want a future, 
    how they are craving it. I felt I had to create something related to what I heard."
    RELATED: Artist William Kentridge's incredible refugee premonition
    http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/14/arts/william-kentridge-refugee-crisis/
    The resulting sculpture, called "My light is your light", is a set of custom-made white neon lights that
    "look like extremely fragile human bones". For Minawi, the entire piece is a stripped down version of
     one particular family in Lebanon whose story affected him deeply.
    "They're crossing the border," Minawi says. "The father is in front watching out for the family. 
    The grandfather trails behind him, bent over and exhausted. The mother is walking forward but looking down. 
    The teenager has been left behind. He's just as traumatized as everyone else, but they don't notice. 
    There's also an aunt and a little child."
    A message of hope for refugees
    According to Minawi, the installation has a message not only for Europeans, but also for refugees themselves.
    "I want to tell them that you shine light and you can move on," he says. 
    "There are five statues whose heads are all down. Except for the little kid."
    Unlike the older figures, the smallest child in the sculpture looks straight ahead, 
    and was intended as a symbol of hope and resilience.

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