Ayman Baalbaki (Lebanese, b. 1975)

One of the most acclaimed artists in the Arab world today, Ayman Baalbaki grew up in Lebanon amidst the Civil War and the Israeli occupation and consequently experimented from an early age around the theme of displacement following the conflicts ravaging his homeland. Inspired by the events surrounding him, Baalbaki depicts destroyed buildings alluding to the consecutive bombings of Beirut's Southern suburbs. He later started his most sought-after series of warriors bearing veils, of which the present work is a striking example. The
anonymous figure he portrays acts as a symbol of resistance against the endless conflicts in the region and his works, bursting with energy, reveal incongruous feelings of hope, courage and despair.