Bereen Darwish is a Gothenburg-based Kurdish artist born and raised in Syria. She holds a BFA in Fine art from faculty of art, printmaking department in Aleppo, Syria and studied international cultural project management in Gothenburg, Sweden. She also has a long experience working with NGOs and INGOs in Syria, Turkey, Uk and Sweden. Darwish worked as Assistant to the Projects Manager at The Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg; Media and news monitoring with Internews Europe in London, England, United Kingdom; Senior Project Coordinator at SREO Consulting in Gaziantep, Turkey; and Field Officer Hayata Destek/ Support to life. She is currently working as art producer at Blåstället Konsthall and as a host at the Gothenburg Art Museum. Darwish`s artistic practice touches the subjects, trauma and how it is sorted in human bodies and takes different forms and shapes.
About my work: My work is for me similar to a diary, focusing on my emotions, feelings and the experiences of my life. I am painting and drawing unconsciously while I am not seeking for any specific sense. Most of the drawings in this collection were made when I was experiencing my darkest times. Where my neighbourhood boomed in front of me, or when in Turkey I felt extremely abandoned for the first time ever, or when I came to Sweden alone and could not recognize and approach the world around me. These sudden changes are the source of my endless anxiety, discomfort and loneliness.
Now, when I look at my art, I understand my younger self, where I was, how I was feeling, and experiencing. I see the pain, the disappointment, the anger I felt for how human beings behave. I use my art to compare between my younger self and myself now. It makes me understand how I grew in life. It keeps track of the progress of my growing and not just getting older with the number of years.
For the exhibition I am sharing some of the work from when I was in Syria, Aleppo, then when I was in Turkey. I am now in Sweden. Most of my work was colourless until last year. Of course, I started to use some colours, when I started to see and feel some colours.
works in the exhibition
“Too dead for dreaming, Aleppo 2013”
- pencil and collage artwork mixed media on paper
- size A4
- venue: Room 2037
“Reborn, Turkey 2016”
- pencil
- size A4
- venue: Room 2037
“Hidden and broken, Aleppo 2013”
- pencil and spray can on paper
- size A4
- venue: Room 2037
“Floating memories set (1,2,3), Sweden 2019”
- Ink on paper
- size A3
- venue: Room 2037
“Find your inner light, Sweden, 2021”
- mixed media on Fabriano
- size A3
- venue Room 2037
“Falling, 2014, Aleppo”
- pencil and newspaper collage (mixed media) on paper
- size A4
- venue: Room 2037
“Daydreaming, 2013, Aleppo”
- pencil and collage artwork (mixed media) on paper
- size A4
- venue: Room 2037
“Balance, 2015, Turkey”
- pencil and collage artwork (mixed media) on paper
- size A4
- venue: Room 2037
exhibition.school 