Despite suffering from cerebral palsy during his childhood years, Shadi Suleiman refused to succumb to his malady and stubbornly kept honing his artistic skills and working on improving his physical fitness.
As Suleiman explained to Sputnik Arabic, he inherited his skills from his parents. Eventually, by sharpening his natural talents, he managed to master the art of oil painting and sculpture; and his indomitable character also led Suleiman to become secretary of the Syrian Disabled Society.
Suleiman’s paintings cover different aspects of life and convey a variety of emotions. Many of them however deal with an issue that has been affecting all strata of the Syrian society for several years now – war.
A woman seeing off her loved one as he heads to the front; an elder woman and her granddaughter sit together, lost in thought; a girl holds her hands over a stove to warm up – the paintings capture the transcendental aspects of life in today’s Syria that often remain unseen by the casual observer.
The artist hopes that the Syrian army and its Russian allies will be able to put an end to the war and bring peace back to the ravaged country.
