I paint. I have always been painting. I paint to express my emotions, my vulnerability and my pain. My passion for art began in the streets of my village Tal Hadat, which lies close to Damascus, the capital of Syria. I used to paint on house fronts, narrow streets and lanes. I mainly drew images, which I encountered in my everyday life during my childhood.

In my village, there were a couple of paintings on house fronts. Paintings expressing everyday life and thoughts of people living in my village. Looking at these paintings as a child, I memorizing them as symbols and abstract structures. They became part of my childhood; reflecting on these images, they made up my personal biography. The past becomes a lasting memory. The depth of symbolism of the paintings has always been present, at any time. Furthermore, symbols and structures stand for movement and traces (of the past). Movement is life and life is movement. A person, who is running; a child which is crying; a mother, who is baking; a dog which is barking. Everywhere in everyday life of human beings, there is movement. These movements are carrying symbols and elements of my art.

I studied Art and Decoration at the University of Damascus. Afterwards, I worked as a stage designer at the theatre and set sceneries for different Jordanian TV stations broadcasting in Syria. Since 1989, I exhibited my work in different art galleries in Lebanon, Istanbul, Kuwait, Ukraine, London and New York. During my entire career as an artist I witnessed oppression and repression in my home country Syria. Being Kurdish, I have been refused owning an identification card. I had no rights. Sometimes, I felt like a bird with clipped wings. Being an artist helps me to

reflect and deal with my experience.