LONDON, UK—Zardasht Osman, a young Kurdish artist from Halabja, tries to depict his people’s struggle for peace and freedom through a montage of photos of Kurdish fighters and Western celebrities.
“Like every Kurd, I am not in love with war. We want peace, but it seems it is our destiny that we have to win peace at gunpoint,” Osman told Rudaw.
Describing his work as resistance art Osman thinks it is his duty to “show respect to the blood of those who sacrificed their lives”.
His work draws similarities between the Hollywood character of Rambo (played by Sylvester Stallone) and the Kurdish guerrilla codenamed Musa the Sniper, a Kurd from Iranian Kurdistan who famously fought and killed many ISIS militants in Kobani.
Zardasht says as the West takes pride in fictional characters, he wanted the world to know that Kurds were proud of real characters in real situations.
“When you think of Rambo you think of a movie personality. But I am proud of a reality character, and he does exist, he could even be called a Kurdish Rambo.”
In one picture a Kurdish female fighter sits on a mud floor in front of the world famous Colombian singer Shakira. “Shakira has won attention with her beauty and her voice, and I think a Kurdish female fighter could receive as much attention with her long her, her Kurdish outfit and rifle.”
The famous Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi appears to give a thumbs-up to a young Kurdish fighter standing behind him as portrayed by Osman.
A Russian professional tennis player appears in the background of a Kurdish female fighter with a heavy machine-gun. Osman believes that the Kurds can express themselves through peaceful means such as tennis when and if they get a chance.
If the Kurds were not faced with old and new wars, says the artist, each fighter could be pursuing a different profession.
For now, says Osman, the fighters fight in order to give the next generation a chance to fulfill their potentials.
Almost all the photos show Kurdish fighters from Rojava, but Osman has named his project Peshmerga and Guerrillas, to honor the Peshmerga soldiers who went to Kobani from the Kurdistan Region in 2014 to help their brothers and sisters repel the ISIS attack on the city.
“Like every Kurd, I am not in love with war. We want peace, but it seems it is our destiny that we have to win peace at gunpoint,” Osman told Rudaw.
Describing his work as resistance art Osman thinks it is his duty to “show respect to the blood of those who sacrificed their lives”.
His work draws similarities between the Hollywood character of Rambo (played by Sylvester Stallone) and the Kurdish guerrilla codenamed Musa the Sniper, a Kurd from Iranian Kurdistan who famously fought and killed many ISIS militants in Kobani.
Zardasht says as the West takes pride in fictional characters, he wanted the world to know that Kurds were proud of real characters in real situations.
“When you think of Rambo you think of a movie personality. But I am proud of a reality character, and he does exist, he could even be called a Kurdish Rambo.”
In one picture a Kurdish female fighter sits on a mud floor in front of the world famous Colombian singer Shakira. “Shakira has won attention with her beauty and her voice, and I think a Kurdish female fighter could receive as much attention with her long her, her Kurdish outfit and rifle.”
The famous Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi appears to give a thumbs-up to a young Kurdish fighter standing behind him as portrayed by Osman.
A Russian professional tennis player appears in the background of a Kurdish female fighter with a heavy machine-gun. Osman believes that the Kurds can express themselves through peaceful means such as tennis when and if they get a chance.
If the Kurds were not faced with old and new wars, says the artist, each fighter could be pursuing a different profession.
For now, says Osman, the fighters fight in order to give the next generation a chance to fulfill their potentials.
Almost all the photos show Kurdish fighters from Rojava, but Osman has named his project Peshmerga and Guerrillas, to honor the Peshmerga soldiers who went to Kobani from the Kurdistan Region in 2014 to help their brothers and sisters repel the ISIS attack on the city.
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