The Mural as the Choreographer

Zwewla, November 28. 2013, for Siliana.

Zwewla, November 28. 2013, for Siliana.

Do you remember this mural made by Zwewla for Siliana in November to commemorate the anniversary of the manifestations and no less the violence the protesters were met with, personified by the one-eyed, blinded protester?

The mural was an indoor piece on plywood and seeing it in action is the acid test of the quality of the piece.

UGTT, Siliana P.OFF, April 10, 2014.

In action is the proper word for it. This one mural owns the whole room. 

It adds drama, or to be specific, it formulates the very purpose of the meeting. They are gathered for a reason, and a serious one at that, which needs their intervening to be solved or at the very least to be acknowledged.

The mural defines the What, the Why and the Violence that ensued - the call to speak up, the poverty as the first reason for protesting and the wounded eye from which the blood creates a voice of its own, shooting out in heavy streams. The mural acts out what is only stated in words, making sure that the fundamental problems cannot be ignored or glossed over.

UGTT, Siliana P.OFF, April 10, 2014.

In Danish we say a place is "black with people", when there are so many present, that one cannot see one from the other. This is exactly what we have before us. The protesters add to the single row of persons, giving a feeling of the noise of many voices, when just the one is speaking. 

UGTT, Siliana P.OFF, April 10, 2014.

The outstretched arm, the young seem to step in as if they belong to the same protesting delegation on the wall.

UGTT, Siliana P.OFF, April 10, 2014.

And my favorite, the position of the arms and fingers are mirrored in what seems to be a heated exchange, both men, the one on the wall and the one before us, yelling out.

In November Zwewla underlined the language of murals as a means to express oneself in a simple language, inviting everybody to do the same. When we discussed the photos above, Oussama added  COLOR to this as a means of revolution, in fact the use of color as a revoution in itself. The color to open the eyes of those, who have not dared speak up till now. To this end the mural is a means to force the acknowledgment: