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Born in Damascus, raised in Saudi Arabia, and educated in the Midwestern U.S., artist and architect Mohamad Hafez explores the impact of the political turmoil of the Middle East through hyper-realistic streetscapes crafted from found objects, paint, and scrap metal. Architectural in appearance yet politically charged in content, his miniaturized tableaus are alternately nostalgic, charming, and deeply painful.

Mohamad Hafez: Collateral Damage features a selection of work across multiple projects, including the site-specific installation Sea Garbage, as well as pieces from his Baggage series, in which the artist creates tableaus suggestive of the experience of refugees – many of whom are forced to flee their homes at short notice, or with only as much as they can carry – and places them inside vintage suitcases.

This exhibition also features selected works by two contemporary Syrian artists, photographer and digital artist Hala el-Abed and filmmaker Waref abu Quba, which explore themes of violence and loss centered around the Syrian refugee crisis.