Connoisseurs of Middle Eastern contemporary art have long been aware of Tammam Azzam, but to the rest of the world, he remained unknown until February this year, when one of his works went viral – a powerful vindication of his decision to abandon painting for digital art.
The work Freedom Graffiti superimposes one of western art's most tender works, Gustav Klimt's The Kiss, upon the ruins of a Damascene building.
Azzam is a Syrian who fled from army conscription in Damascus seven months after the conflict in his country began, arriving in Dubai two years ago. He brought his wife and child, but his parents and brother remain in Syria, along with his thoughts, hopes and heart.
“I feel that I’m there in the streets in Syria,” Azzam says. “Nobody wants to say I hope to be under a bomb or under a destroyed building, but I hope that I’m supporting them, and I represent their feelings.”
Just as he has dispensed with the slow, old-world techniques of paint, Azzam’s work forgoes the cryptic abstraction that makes contemporary art such a difficult language. A graphic designer by trade, he combines the most direct of media (digital) with the urgency of street art to share his messages of hope and pain. There is no time for mystery here: there is a story to be told and it must be told now. Yet Azzam has also become ambivalent about the genuine power of art.
“Art doesn’t make sense of what’s happening in Syria, because after two years and six months and more than 200,000 people killed, it can’t make sense,” he says. “But I’ll try to do my best to talk about people there. So I want [people] to pay attention to what’s happening in this part of the world. It is my duty to do that for myself and for Syria.”
Before the war, he painted semi-abstract, nearly monochrome landscapes and was best known for his Laundry series. It was gestural exploration on a level that, in the light of his latest exhibition, seems unimaginably esoteric. Now, works such as Syrian Olympic, which shows stencilled marksmen shooting running figures beneath the Olympic rings, offer no ambiguity in meaning. But Azzam asserts that while the technique has changed, the concerns are the same.
For Syrians, it seems, nothing can be the same as it was and that goes for art as much as life. “I used to think artists made art for art’s sake, but now, as a Syrian, it’s different. [That’s why] I named the show I, The Syrian,” says Azzam.
It reflects the revolution in his country – and he is insistent on this point. “When you are a Syrian, you know your country more than anybody else, so for me, a Syrian born and growing up there, I know that what’s happening in Syria is a revolution; it is not a civil war,” he argues passionately. “What I’m doing is nothing compared with what children there [are living through], but this is what I can do. I don’t have the solution, but I can support my people this way, and that’s it.”
• Tammam Azzam: I, The Syrian is at Ayyam Gallery London from December 12 to January 30. Visit www.ayyamgallery.com
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Seven tips from Emirates NBD
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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Company%20profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
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SPECS
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
Company%20Profile
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If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
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