“SKY IS THE LIMIT” works by Hanibal Srouji (Lebanon)

Hanibal Srouji is a Lebanese artist whose work reflects the lasting emotional impact of the Lebanese Civil War and his forced exile in 1976. Rather than documenting conflict directly, he transforms memory and trauma into poetic abstract works that explore healing, resilience, and what he calls “the right to dream.”

Using materials such as fire, carbon, graphite, neon, and acrylic, Srouji creates layered surfaces that carry the physical traces of destruction while remaining visually delicate. His paintings move beyond narratives of war, offering a more hopeful vision that challenges stereotypes of Middle Eastern political art and emphasizes the power of imagination as a form of survival.