Mohamad Hafez (Arabic: محمد حافظ; born 1984) is a Syrian-American artist and architect living in the United States. His work primarily explores around the stories and dislocation of Syrian refugees.[1][2]
Early life
Hafez was born in 1984 in Syria.[3] He emigrated to the United States in 2003,[4] on a visa to study architecture at the University of Iowa.
[5]
Work
Hafez is best known for his miniature diorama works, which depict daily life in Syria, which he has been creating since 2004.[6][7] His 2017 work Unpacked: Refugee Baggage is a series of miniature dioramas based on interviews that conducted with refugees from the Syrian war.[8] It is intended to humanize the refugee subjects.[9]
In 2021, The New Yorker produced a short film on Hafez's work, directed by Jimmy Goldblum and titled A Broken House.[10][1] The film later aired on the PBS series POV during the POV Shorts installment "Where I'm From."[11]
Selected solo exhibitions
2016 Refugees: Stories of Life's Dreams and Scars - Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut[12][13]
2016 Unsettled Nostalgia - The Harts Gallery, New Milford, Connecticut[14][15]
2016 Desperate Cargo - Real Art Ways, Hartford, Connecticut[16]
2016 Sea Garbage - The Athenaeum, St. Johnsbury, Vermont
2017 Tomorrow, when Things Have Calmed Down - Hopkins School, New Haven, Connecticut