SUR-URBANS

About

Sur-Urbans is a digital art series reflecting the emotions perceived by the living environment among the informal settlements of Damascus, Syria. The digital images serve to document the various layers of the city and are inspired by surrealism and the artist’s love of  architecture. Within each image exists a reflection of the surreal conditions, and continuous feelings of complexity & chaos, in addition to the ‘informal’ nature of the settlements including: unlivable conditions, lack of infrastructure, and shortage in services to communities. However, they also reveal an overwhelming beauty: architectural quality, sense of community, resilience, & the potential (both physical and human) of each space. 

The artist further unveils a more focused, detailed layer to the exhibition, creating an extension of the online exhibition space, in the form of a virtual reality (VR) room. The virtual room thus exists as a digital archive of Damascus’ informal settlements serving to preserve the physical details of the spaces.

Through these digital spaces, Sur-Urbans aims to redirect the feelings and emotions of the populations who live within these settlements, directing them internally to the architectural structures themselves, manifesting life, and meaning, perpetuating the stories of those who inhabit them.