Trauma On Plate, 2022

30 x 24.5 cm

Porcelain, hand-painted brass cutlery, and iron cast of a grenade

Upon my arrival in Sweden in 2016 at the age of 24, I garnered significant attention from the Swedish media. The focus of the coverage was my survival of ISIS and my identity as a young queer refugee. However, this attention, while widespread across news outlets, proved to be unsettling for me. I perceived it as superficial and dehumanizing, reducing his experiences to clickbait or mere headlines that overlooked his emotions and the trauma he had endured.

Notably, this sculpture represents my second venture into three-dimensional art, a departure from my primary focus on watercolors and paintings. The work serves as a tangible expression of my frustration, one that couldn't be adequately conveyed on paper or within the confines of a two-dimensional image. Instead, it materializes as a physical manifestation of the trauma and despair rooted in my lived experiences of growing up in war-torn Syria. "Trauma On Plate," weaves together elements of Swedish heritage and personal history. The composition incorporates Swedish design objects, notably antique cutlery with familial significance, and a second-hand ceramic plate.

What adds a profound layer of meaning is the integration of an iron cast shaped like a grenade, a haunting relic from the turbulent times in Syria under the shadows of both ISIS and the Asaad regime. In this symbolic narrative, the cutlery and plate serve as metaphors for Sweden, embodying Swedish media and Western obsession with trauma porn. Meanwhile, the iron cast grenade becomes a representation of my deeply embedded trauma and pain.

From Liljevalchs Spring Salon 2024