Through my paintings I address the violent events that continue to take place in Syria, seeking to represent the character of the Syrian victims. My paintings are a medium through which to reflect both the trauma I and others have experienced, and the deep emotional and personal impact of war. In essence, the self-expression through my paintings has been, at once, revelatory, exploratory, intellectual, reflective and emotional. My choices and uses of particular painting techniques connect to the subject of violence in significant ways but these are often complex to articulate and unravel. Sometimes these choices are deliberate, but sometimes they may be accidental or intuitive. It is important, therefore, to become immersed in my practice. I often surround myself with an excess of visual information, in the form of collage, images and cut-outs. This is how I learn to focus my attention, while at the same time shutting out the outside world and absorbing the messages from the mass of material in front of me. In time, this leads me to an intuitive semi-automatic activity, which provides a heightened alertness and a conscious state of being elsewhere; i.e. Syria, in such a way as to provoke reflection and, ultimately, clarity.