“Defaced Murals”
In the picture appears the murals of the two artists, Thi Yazan Al- Alawy and Tammam Mohammed, after being defaced. Whoever defaced the murals wrote the word “Steadfast” on both of them.
The two artists painted those murals within “Ruins” campaign in its eighth activity around “Economy Collapse”, in front of Yemen Central Bank, on June 9, 2016.
The murals were painted merely to reflect the disastrous economic situation of the country and the situation of the Yemeni citizens during these hard times, and no warring party was subjected by any of them.
I find myself wondering, has it become undesirable to express the sufferings endured by the Yemeni people during these conflicts?!
“جداريات مطموسة”
في الصورة تظهر جدارياتا الفنانان “ذي يزن العلوي” و “تمام الشيباني” والتي نفذاها ضمن حملة “حُطام” الخميس 9 يوينو 2016، حول موضوع “تدهور الإقتصاد” في اليمن. في المربع الأحمر تظهر الجداريتان بعد طمسهما وكتب عليهما “صامدون”.
رسمنا جداريات تعبر عن الوضع الإقتصادي الكارثي الذي وصل له الشعب اليمني والبلد، جداريات لا تنتمي أو تتعرض لأي طرف من أطراف الحرب، وإنما حاولت التعبير عن معاناة الإنسان اليمني في هذا الوقت الكارثي.
هل أصبح حتى التعبير عن المعاناة التي يعيشها الشعب اليمني في ظل الحرب وويلاتها أمرا غير مرغوب به؟!
English Text Follows:
هذه الحرب أكبر من أن تتحملها العملة اليمنية.
جدارية الفنان تمام محمد، ضمن حملة “حُطام” في النشاط الثامن بعنوان “تدهور الإقتصاد”، على جدار جسر الصداقة، شارع التحرير، صنعاء بتاريخ 9 يونيو 2016. يظهر في الصورة “البنك المركزي اليمني.
This war is greater than can be borne by the Yemeni currency.
Artist Tammam Mohammed mural, in the eighth activity of “Ruins” campaign around “The Economy Collapse”. It was painted on Al-sadaqah bridge, Tahrir street, Sana’a, on June 9, 2016. The “Central Bank of Yemen” appears in the picture.
English Text Follows:
أصبحت العملة الصعبة صعبة جداً ليحملها الإنسان اليمني.
جدارية الفنان ذي يزن العلوي، ضمن حملة “حُطام” في النشاط الثامن بعنوان “تدهور الإقتصاد”، على جدار جسر الصداقة، شارع التحرير، صنعاء بتاريخ 9 يونيو 2016. يظهر في الصورة “البنك المركزي اليمني
The hard currency has been so heavy to be carried by the Yemeni people.
Artist Thi Yazen Al-Alawy mural, in the eighth activity of “Ruins” campaign around “The Economy Collapse”. It was painted on Al-sadaqah bridge, Tahrir street, Sana’a, on June 9, 2016. The “Central Bank of Yemen” appears in the picture.
English Text Follows:
عانى اليمنيون الأمرين خلال هذه الحرب، الدمار والقهر والجوع والعطش، وفوق ذلك، يعانون الآن من دمار شبه كلي لإقتصادهم.
جداريتي الثامنة “المنشار”، ضمن حملة “حُطام” في النشاط الثامن بعنوان “تدهور الإقتصاد”، على جدار جسر الصداقة، شارع التحرير، صنعاء بتاريخ 9 يونيو 2016. يظهر في الصورة “البنك المركزي اليمني”.
Yemenis have suffered both, destruction, oppression, hunger and thirst, and above it all, they are now going through even harder times with the almost economy collapse.
My mural “The Saw”, in the eighth activity of “Ruins” campaign around “The Economy Collapse”. It was painted on Al-sadaqah bridge, Tahrir street, Sana’a, on June 9, 2016. The “Central Bank of Yemen” appears in the picture.
English text follows
يعيش اليمنيون كافة أوضاع كارثيه في ظل الحرب وصراعات الداخل والخارج. الشعب اليمني اليوم يتضور جوعا وعطشا ويفتقد لأبسط الأدويه بسبب الحرب وحصارها. بحسب الإحصائات فإن 21 مليون يمني يحتاجوا إلى المساعدة اليوم، منهم أكثر من 7 مليون يمني بحاجة للمساعدات الإنسانية الأساسيه الطارئه.
جدارية “النبض الأخير”
للفنان/ ذي يزن العلوي، ضمن حملة “حُطام” في نشاطها السادس حول “الحصار”، على الجدار المقابل لوزارة الشباب والرياضه، شارع الزبيري، في اليوم الأخير للعام 2015.
Due to the internal and external conflicts in Yemen, Yemenis live under catastrophic conditions. Today, Yemeni people struggle with the lack of food, water and medications because of war and its siege. According to recent statistics, 21 million Yemeni need assistance, of whom more than 7 million Yemenis need urgent and basic humanitarian assistance.
“The Last Impulse” mural
By the artist Thi Yazan Al-Alawai, under “Ruins” campaign in its sixth activity around “Blockade”, on the opposite walls of the Youth & Sports Ministry, Alzubairi Street, in the last day of the year 2015, December 31.
English text follows
الجوع والعطش أسوأ فصول الحرب. لم تكتف حروب الداخل والخارج بقتل وتشريد اليمنيين، بل هاهي تفرض الحصار عليهم مسببة العطش والجوع وإنعدام الدواء عنهم.
بينما يحتفل العالم اليوم بليلة رأس السنة، يمر اليمنيون بأصعب اللحظات في تاريخهم الحديث وربما القديم أيضاً.
جداريتي، ضمن حملة “حُطام” في نشاطها السادس حول “الحصار”، على جدار في شارع الزبيري، اليوم الأخير من العام 2015، ديسمبر 31.
ملاحظة: إستخدمت في الجدارية أسلاك شائكة وإطار حديدي، بالإضافة إلى إستخدام تقنية الويت بيست.
Hunger and thirst are the worst parts of war. Not only did the internal and exterior wars kill and displace Yemenis, rather these wars have imposed blockade that caused the hunger, thirst and medicine shortage for millions of Yemenis.
Today as the world celebrate New Years’ Eve, Yemenis go through one of the hardest times in their recent history, and probably the ancient one as well.
My mural, in “Ruins” campaign in its sixth activity around “Blockade”, on the opposite walls of the Youth & Sports Ministry, Alzubairi Street, in the last day of the year 2015, December 31.
Note: I used barbed wires and metal frame in installing this mural, I also used Wheat Paste technique.
On the American website “The Seattle Times”: Photos of the day.
During painting my fifth mural in “Ruins” campaign, on the wall of the Yemeni journalist Syndicate, Dec.10, 2015
من “صور اليوم من حول العالم” على الموقع الأمريكي “The Seattle Times”
الصوره أثناء عملي على جداريتي الخامسه ضمن حملة “حُطام” التي عنت بالحريات، على جدار نقابة الصحفيين اليمنيين، 10 ديسمبر 2015.
تصوير: Yahya Arhab “EPA”
For many, Yemen war is a forgotten one. Nonetheless, aspects of Yemen war are meant not to be forgotten for Yemeni graffiti artist, 28, Murad Subay who believes walls shall represent accounts of warfare. In the wake of Yemen’s 2011 uprising, as he utilized his art to reflect the political and social concerns of that phase, Murad has been regarded as a revolutionary artist-perhaps the first Yemeni political graffiti artist of his kind in Yemen’s contemporary history. Today, determined to continue his artwork, and in light of Yemen war, Murad Subay continues to shed light on the human cost of the war, which could make him to be regarded as a war artist.
As of 16 October, health facilities in Yemen had reported 32,307 casualties (including 5,604 deaths) – an average of 153 injuries or deaths every day, according to a UN report.
Murad was compelled to create a visual account of that destruction of human lives. ‘Ruins’ is the title of his latest art work intended to depict the impact of the war by commemorating war victims across Yemen. ‘Ruins’ was initiated in May, 2015 in Sana’a, aiming to leave graffiti paintings on what’s left of the destroyed houses by the bombings. One of his outstanding graffiti art is when Murad beautifully commemorated 15 children killed in Bani Hawwat area, in Sana’a, where air strikes destroyed more than seven houses. Murad painted 15 children faces on the wall of what’s left of the destroyed house. Another 27 civilians were killed as well in that attack.
In our email correspondence, Murad told me that he doesn’t want to focus only on his town of residence, Sana’a. He tried to visit the war-torn Taiz city and paint. He managed to paint at Hoban area, then when he tried to paint in further areas in Taiz, he was denied to enter to the heart of the city by one of the warring parties. When I asked who exactly denied him, he prefered not to disclose further information. I expect that is so for his own security. Murad did not let that stop him; he went back to Sana’a and continued painting.
The painting process usually takes place with the help of a number of Murad’s friends and even with the help with strange people who happen to pass by and feel interested in what’s been done. Even though Murad has been occasionally harassed by different officials in power for the work he does, he praises greatly the support he has been getting from the Yemeni society – ‘that’s the main thing that keeps me going since 2012,’ he tells me. Murad believes that the significance of graffiti art lies in its power in reflecting a society’s concerns better than words.
Murad’s experience with graffiti has began since 2011 with his consecutive art campaigns which include; ‘The Walls Remember Their Faces‘, ‘Colour the Walls of Your Street’ and today’s ‘the Ruins’. Nonetheless, Murad is thirsty to dig more into graffiti art and seeks to improve his knowledge about art academically. He hopes to study it further in the near future.
Murad is not just another graffiti artist; who’s being dubbed as ‘The Banksy of Yemen.’ Murad is a rare humanist voice in an extreme polarized political scene in Yemen. It’s been remarkable the audacity his art has in depicting Yemen’s critical political and social issues following Yemen’s 2011 uprising till the ongoing conflict. Given the growing political division among the nation influenced by the multi-layered conflict in Yemen, it’s been hard to find a voice that can reflect the humanism of the situation; speaking about the killing and bloodshed of all sides, regardless of who fired the bullets first. Murad’s art doesn’t only express Yemeni people’s pain but it also revives a sense of humanity that’s suffocated by massive injustices.
Murad Subay 