Tammam Azzam on Layered Colour, Destruction, and His Dubai Show 'Diary'

Syrian artist Tammam Azzam discusses his shift from black-and-white to layered colour collage, inspired by his move from Dubai to Delmenhorst, Germany. His recent large-scale works, shown at Ayyam Gallery in Dubai in his first exhibition there since 2019, explore themes of destruction, memory, and absence. Azzam began collage six years ago to express feelings about broken things. He reconstructs imaginary or destroyed places from fragments of memory, light, and colour, avoiding direct photo copying. The artist rarely includes human figures, preferring to stand within the landscape he builds. His series 'Freedom Graffiti' (2013) directly responded to war by layering Gustav Klimt's 'The Kiss' over war-torn Syrian buildings. Azzam's practice also includes photomontages and the 'Syrian Museum' series (2013). He emphasizes that each colour block can refer to multiple objects or memories, and he follows a visual tone from colour to colour. The interview was published in Canvas 112.