Louay Kayyali, Insanity & the Syrian Delusion Louay Kayyali, Insanity & the Syrian Delusion

Louay Kayyali was a Syrian artist born in 1934. This Aleppine artist began his journey with an art exhibition while still in high school in 1952. His 5 years of postsecondary education were marked with a series of exhibitions between Italy and Syria, where he initially painted landscapes and portraits of hopeful character; he became an established artist amongst the community. During the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967, which was Louay’s career peak, he launched an exhibition named “For the Sake of Cause”. His life changed from this point. Louay presented charcoal drawings that depicted scared and sad-looking characters. The criticism was quick during an extreme period of Arab Nationalism where people demanded optimistic portrayals of the “struggle of the people”. Art critics accused him of being pessimistic, and politicized his motives. Louay sought to portray the forgotten members of society and citizens who were no longer willing to fight. Not one piece was sold and the artist left the exhibition realizing the delusion his society was entrenched in. Torn apart, he returned to his studio where he destroyed most of his works, marking the start of a psychological crisis for Louay, which people described as insanity. Perhaps Louay was insane, but how can one not be driven insane when surrounded by people who are so detached from reality? As Syrians today, we feel the hypocrisy that Louay felt. We see the divisions we face today and the ever growing nightmare of poverty that did not appeal to the elite who rejected his works. Going mad is a human right when the situation drives you towards it, and in a Syria like today, maybe we should be labeled insane if that is what it takes to shed light on reality.