An artist's 'explosive' works convey hope amid death in Syria
Akram Swedaan, an artist displaced from eastern Gouta, opposes war by transforming ammunition into canvases to create works of art.
![PaintingOnDeath.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2019/08/PaintingOnDeath.jpg/PaintingOnDeath.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=p7BrAe76)
A large missile incubator stands in the middle of the room that Akram Swedaan uses as his studio. In a few days, he will completely transform the weapon of war into a work of art with the strokes of his paintbrush.
Born Akram Abo Alfoz in Douma, eastern Ghouta, Swedaan, a self-taught painter, has made a name for himself in the last three years by transforming the remnants of shells, missiles and bullets he collects from the street in “defiance of the death plaguing Syria.”