Syrian Mothers' Dance

I was invited to record a performance by Vivienne Tsouris, a classically trained professional ballet dancer and choreographer. Vivienne hadn't danced for ten years – which, at the age of 71, is fair enough – but recently she was moved to create a dance based on the plight of Syrian mothers originally from Palestine. The dance is an expression of the grief and pain of war, of being displaced and traumatised, twice-over refugees, separated from children, loved ones and home by armed conflict, death and geographical upheaval.

​I took some stills of Vivienne and manipulated the photographs with fire and burning wire to express the agonising pain of loss after loss and the nerve-scorching dread and helplessness of being a refugee. We in the West can only try to imagine how it feels to be entangled in such horrific ongoing circumstances. Human beings do have an incredible capacity for pain in their own lives, yet the after effects continue for generations. I wish we could put our arms around all the hurting souls and make the pain go away. These pictures are in honour of the suffering and the strength of women in war zones.