As a nation, I feel we know the difficult road ahead for Reconciliation. Stay the course. It isn't easy, but it's worth it. Never forget those who got you here, or what it took.
Artist & Date
Bernice Troskie, 2025
Medium
Oil Paint on Stretched Canvas.
Dimensions
77cm x 51cm x 2cm
Title: Spirit of Resistance (A Portrait of Mazen al-Hamada), Artist: Bernice Troskie, 2025. Oil Paint on Stretched Canvas. 77cm x 51cm.
Hearing the News that this brave man’s mutilated body was found at the now globally infamous Sednaya prison, The artist felt the need to do something with the swell of emotions. The photos of Mazen that were circulating at the time were of him very tearful, while recalling the traumas he endured the first time as a prisoner of the Assad Regime. The Artist wanted to show the bravery and defiance that truly defined his character. In a world where he had lost hope that anyone would help the detainees, he still fought the fight, raised his voice, and even went back into hell to try and make a difference. It isn’t just about the Syrian people, his fight was the fight of all those who stand up to the powerful and speak up for those without voices. Because if those of us drunk on power think they can do this to some of us, they will do this to all of us.
