Gate of the Winds

This work depicts figures fleeing from the Syrian civil war framed by the stone archway of the 'Gate of the Winds'.

The artist draws on the ancient history of Aleppo (Bab al-Hawa, the ‘Gate of the Winds’ is an important border crossing between Syria and Turkey and the site of a 6th century arch) and what has happened there since the protests broke out in January 2011.

The main image of the grieving woman is drawn from media photographs of civilians in Aleppo, covered with dust from the government bombing of the city. The standing female figure to the left is taken from a photograph of a woman fleeing to Turkey and struggling to carry her family’s rugs (rugs often being both heirlooms and the most valuable property a family can carry.)

The work is painted over a layer of ground marble, evoking the marble for which Aleppo is known (‘Aleppo’ means ‘white’.) Bombing the city covered its citizens in distinctive white dust.