This year, 2016, marks the fifth year of war in Syria. Since it began, nearly a quarter million Syrians have been killed, seven million displaced and four million have fled to neighbouring countries. Berlin-based photographer Kai Wiedenhoefer has been documenting the war since 2012. He hopes to display his photographic collection on the last remnants of the Berlin Wall in the WarOnWall exhibition. WarOnWall is one of many similar projects done by Kai as part of the greater WallOnWall organisation.
Run in association with the Society for Humanistic Photography (Gesellschaft für Humanistische Fotografie -GfHF), Wiedenhoefer launched a Kickstarter campaign to gather funds for the project.
The exhibition will focus on the physical impact the war has had on the Syrian people, their homelands and their towns, the combination of which speaks of the obliteration and evacuation of the entire country. Through his work Wiedenhoefer hopes to deliver a more realistic portrayal of the war-torn nation.
“WarOnWall will bring the visual impact of the war to Berlin, making its experience both direct and personal,” reads the project’s Kickstarter campaign.
The aim of the project is to raise awareness and understanding of the condition in Syria on a more human level. A portion of the money gathered will contribute to the aid for war victims.
The project plans to display images of destroyed cities and wounded civilians on the last remaining piece of the Berlin Wall, in the centre of Berlin itself. This will include 22 panoramas three metres tall and nine wide, as well as 42 portraits that are three metres tall and two metres wide. Inserts with background information on the images displayed will also be included. In total, the exhibition will span 360 metres.
