[23. august 2006]

Interview

Issa Touma in front of his photographic works at the exhibition Images of Syria

Interview: Issa Touma

Issa Touma is not just the Syrian artistic consultant for the current exhibition Images of Syria at Møstrings Hus. He is also a photographer, an art gallery owner and the founder of several cultural and photographic festivals in Syria. During the last 10 years he has been defying the Syrian authorities in his fight for liberty. Not liberty in a political sense, because Issa Touma is not interested in dealing with politics. He just wants the liberty to create art and to exhibit Eastern and Western photography in Syria. The problem is that the politicians obstruct his activities and force him to deal with Syrian politics. In syria the creation of art is considered part of the government's business so Issa Touma has to fight for his political freedom.
The exhibition at Møstrings Hus, organized by Vibe Bredahl, Malene Hartmann and Sophie Hjerl, is the result of an ongoing collaboration between Danish and Syrian artists. Each participating artist tells a personal story about their encounter with Syria.

Interview:Signe Janderup

Foto:Anders Sune Berg, Roberto Fortuna & Signe Janderup

Sophie Hjerl, Vibe Bredahl, Malene Hartmann, Bjørn Nørgaard, Marika Seidler, Jeanette Schou, Gunvor Vibe-Petersen, Klavs Bo Christensen, Kirsten Dehlholm og Ralf Richard Strøbech, Issa Touma (SY), Joude Gorani (SY), Diana El Jeiroudi (SY), Eman Ebraheem (SY), Nazem Jawish (SY), Aiham Dib (SY), Bedrous Temizian (SY), Nouh Hemamy (SY)

Images of Syria

05. august - 03. september 2006

Møstings Hus

Andebakkesti 5, 2000 Frederiksberg

web site:www.frederiksberg.dk/moestingshus

Tirsdag - søndag 11-16 Onsdag 11-19


Nouh Hemamy: Silk, 2005-06. Photo		Nouh Hemamy: Silk, 2005-06. Photo

Many of the Syrian artists who are exhibiting here are women. Do you have many female artists in Syria?

Actually most of the people who work with photography in Syria today are women. But we don’t have many women from the old generation. In my view, interesting Middle Eastern art comes from the new generation. Often the old generation is afraid of the new. In a way the art scene in Syria today is like the impressionism in Europe in the late 1800s. The traditional artists and critics don’t want to give the new artists a chance to develop or to show what they can do.

We arrange two art festivals in Aleppo each year, the Women’s Art Festival and the International Photography Gathering, where we try to give the young generation a chance.

Why did you start your own gallery Le Pont in Aleppo, Syria?

I have always loved photography. When I was young I studied Armenian art at the academy in Aleppo and then in 1992 I decided to start my own gallery, which was called Black and White. The gallery didn’t run very well. I worked with a partner and I didn’t know how to find my way into the gallery world. But the experience helped me to establish the second gallery, Le Pont gallery, which I still run.

In the beginning I didn’t ask for any help to carry out my activities, because I knew the authorities wouldn’t like my projects. It was some difficult years, but I worked very hard; and today it’s going very well. Now I’m being supported by more than 50 countries.

Diana El Jeiroudi : The Pot, 2005. Still from the video

But what is the situation of the gallery today?

In the beginning we held our cultural events in many of the public buildings in Aleppo. In 2000 the Syrian government tried to limit my activities in order to isolate me and in 2003 they openly tried to prevent me from undertaking cultural activities.

During 2005 the gallery was in a very serious conflict with the Syrian government.

Why do you think the different intelligence services and the Baath Party wanted you to close your gallery?

It wasn’t because of what I did; it was because of my person. In Syria, with a government like the Baath Party, you need to fear the politicians. You have to show that the leader is the most powerful man in the country. You have to kiss his shoes. I didn’t kiss any shoes and never gave them the feeling that I needed them, and that is bad. Maybe you don’t understand that in the West, but in the East the authorities are ready to do what you consider impossible to retain power.

So they didn’t see you as a threat, but still wanted to hold you down…

The Baath Party told me every month that it was important for me to remember that they were the biggest power in Syria. In the beginning I believed it to be nothing but empty talk, but then I saw how other politicians were frightened and had a lot of problems. I think they tried to shut down my gallery because I’m liberal; I’m not doing anything against the law. They just reacted on my independent way of thinking and the fact that I did not kiss their shoes and never asked them for help.

Issa Touma: Aleppo from above, 1996. Photo

Do you think the government is limiting your activities because they are afraid of Western interference?

The Syrian authorities sometimes cooperate with the Syrian intellectuals in order to convince the West of their good intentions. In other cases the government puts us intellectuals in prison; using us as a weapon against the European countries. They want to send Europe a message saying: we don’t care about democratic ways of thinking.

Have you never thought it would be easier just to cooperate with them?

If they want to take part in my activities, I have no problem with that. I just don’t want to act like they are gods and that my gallery can’t exist without them. This is why I have had problems and that makes me angry. I never asked them for anything, so why do they want something from me?

Vibe Bredahl: Embroidery of the Middle East, 2000-06. Photo, glass, porcelain, string

Aren’t you afraid of putting your life at risk?

Well, most of my friends both outside and inside Syria worry about me. I see that as an indication of how much support we really have, which I didn’t know before all these problems started.

In 2005 the gallery was closed by the authorities 3 times. In total a period of 9 month and 42 minutes! It resulted in a lot of problems and damaged my gallery. For instance, the water supply from around the gallery leaked in the gallery during the closings and destroyed a lot of things.

What future do you see for you and for the gallery?

In September 2006 I’m organizing The International Photography Gathering which is going to be a big event. The festival is a recurrent event each year, except for last year when my gallery was closed. I hope the government isn’t planning to cause any problems this time.

In 2004 during this festival, they tried to stop the activities by cutting the electricity. But a friend of mine brought his car to the exhibition and turned on the headlights which enabled us to continue the show. The works were then showed in the light from the car.

This year I will show about 1400 works of art and more than 70 artists are coming from 32 countries. I hope that everything will run smoothly. If the government tries to make interferences at the festival, it will be a big black spot on the governments head. Furthermore I don’t think that the famous artists who are coming can be shut up.

When you opened your gallery in 1996 in Aleppo, there was no real modern art scene in Aleppo…

We have always had art galleries in Aleppo and in Syria. I think the problem was that the Syrian art, in general, was of poor quality. Especially sculptures and paintings were made in a very old fashioned way. But in Aleppo photography has developed much because of the festivals during the last 10 years, I think.

Why do you think the art scene in Syria hasn’t developed until recently?

It’s very simple. Syria’s borders were closed for 25 years. Most of the art books in our libraries were about impressionism, which you had in Europe in the 1880s. You couldn’t find any material on modern art anywhere. Therefore I’m also trying to found a library in Aleppo so people can read about modern art. I hope it will succeed. I also think that photography will help to develop painting. This exhibition shows, among other things, the first Syrian generation who works with video art. That media has been growing quickly within the last 5 years.


Aiham Dib: Teapot, 2006, photo.		Aiham Dib: Shaving Brush, 2006, photo.


Malene Hartmann: Baron Hotel, 2006. Acrylic on canvas		Malene Hartmann: Bab Touma Square, 2006. Acrylic on canvas

Do you think art can help improve the political situation we have in the world today?

Yes, certainly. I think it’s important to develop the way we communicate. Take for instance the controversy with the Muhammad cartoons. The Syrians, who worked with the Danish artists in this exhibition found it hard to believe that Danish people are as portrayed by the media. The Danish artists were like ambassadors, who showed us a different point of view. It proved just how important a personal face to face encounter is, how strong an impression it leaves.

I don’t think the government can move anything; people don’t trust politicians. They have more trust in artists, for instance. When the politicians meet, they only think about who is going to win. I don’t think artists from different countries communicate on that level. They try to be positive, to see things from different angles.

How do you think different countries, like Denmark and Syria, can benefit from exchanging art?

I think it will generate new ideas. The Danish artists in this exhibition were really interested in having different experiences in Syria because our society is rich in different aspects. I think that it’s good that different people ‘interpret’ my country. In this way images of Syria can be shown in various countries.

We all look at things differently. If I made a work of art based on the same subject as that of a Danish artist for instance, it would still be different from the Danish work of art.

Can you, in relation to this exhibition, tell me about the differences between the Danish and Syrian images?

Nazem Jawish, who is part of this exhibition, is dealing with the Syrian workers in the factory, people who don’t have any hope. You can see the hopelessness in their faces.

Vibe Bredahl, Malene Hartmann and the other Danish artists all have different impressions of Syria, which I think is very important. The title of the exhibition is Images of Syria and we are presenting 17 artists and the audience will be able to see 17 different ways of looking at Syria.

Do you have a message to the Danish people who visit this exhibition?

I’m trying to create and present nice images. Not everything you hear about Syria is true. There is a lot of negativity and we have to minimize the prejudices against each other.

In my view the problem is that the new president in Syria and the government try to expand its power by controlling the intellectuals. In Syria there is a lot of pressure on the intellectuals and when they go to prison it allows the Islamic parties to operate freely.

The Baath Party thinks that the intellectuals want the power. In reality most of them just want to be able to publish their books freely and the artists want to show their art.

Most of us don’t care about politics. We want to create beauty. Maybe beauty can help create a better society. The person who goes to a gallery can never be a terrorist! •