Molly Crabapple's Syria
A powerful reminder of the brutal realities of war from a remarkable collaboration
With the recent news from Syria of the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime by the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), I felt it was worth a look at the 2018 book, Brothers of the Gun: A Memoir of the Syrian War by Marwan Hisham and Molly Crabapple.
Freelance journalist Marwan Hisham shares his narratives from the city of Raqqa, exploring the complex dynamics of friendship and brotherhood amidst the turmoil of the bloody Syrian conflict. It was an onslaught imposed by a ruthless dictatorship, various internal factions vying for power, and the military interventions by Russia in 2015, along with the U.S.-led bombings aimed at defeating the ISIS Caliphate in 2019.
I’ve been a longtime admirer of artist and writer Molly Crabapple’s political art and activism. She’s been a graphic witness to the labor camps of Abu Dhabi, migrants at the US-Mexican border and detainees in Guantánamo Bay. She’s created some extraordinary art and animations for The New York Times and elsewhere.
In Brothers of the Gun her blend of intricate pen and ink line work paired with emotive splashes achieves a startling immediacy and authenticity. Through a unique collaborative process with her co-writer, she produced some great visual journalism.
Crabapple’s drawings were based initially on Hisham’s vivid accounting and photos he smuggled out of the country and sent to Crabapple. She explains that, “these photos were taken at huge risk to himself. This was considered spying by ISIS, and that would have been a death penalty offense. He sent me these photos, and I drew from them.” She also adds that “they are almost montages, (made) from hundreds of sources, from citizen videos online, from blurry photos, sometimes even, in Turkey, from photos that I shot, but, most importantly, from Marwan’s memory.”1
“I was trying, as closely as I could, to see through his eyes.”
They valued each other’s contribution, insights and commitment to accuracy. Crabapple says, “I interviewed him for many pieces and did countless sketches that he art directed to make sure that I had accurately portrayed his truth.” 2
In Crabapple's introduction to her show Syria in Ink at The Brooklyn Public Library in 2018, she acknowledges what influenced her and the power of art:
“In creating the art displayed in Syria in Ink, I was inspired by Goya’s Disasters of War. We now live in the age of infinite photos, and Syria is perhaps the most widely documented war in history. But oppressors, whether they are governments or not, seldom allow cameras into the spaces where they inflict their oppression. The lived experience of those under them disappears into the memory hole. Thankfully, art is a slippery thing. It can evade censorship, make history visible, invest the hideous with beauty and the prosaic with force. It can reveal that which power would otherwise be able to hide. I seek to accomplish with my art what photos cannot.”
After many years of autocratic rule, horrible violence, and the displacement of millions, the people of Syria have reason to hope. Those who remained and endured the suffering, along with returning refugees, are filled with joy and a determination to rebuild their lives. However, they face significant challenges, such as forming a transitional government, reconciling the various factions, and dealing with ongoing conflicts and potential incursions. The powerful collaboration of Molly Crabapple’s art and Marwan Hisham’s writing serves as a reminder of the dark times Syrians experienced and how it must not happen again.
all images and text © Molly Crabapple and Marwan Hisham
More to Know:
Syrian War Updates on Aljazeera
Marwan Hisham on X
An interview with The New Arab, 6.12.18
Molly Crabapple launders liberal interventionism through “human rights” narratives. Wouldn’t surprise me if she received funding from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and other imperial NGOs.
Incredible work, and thanks for surfacing it. Let's hope the perpetrators of horror in Syria are brought to justice and that a true democracy rises from tyranny's demise.