Yemen remains the world's worst humanitarian crisis, say humanitarian organizations. At the Human Rights Film Festival in Berlin, street artist Murad Subay comments on the horrors of war.

Seven black-and-white portraits line up against a red background. Huge black holes replace the figures' eyes. "Wars are one of the evil roots, turning humans into monsters, victims, and others watching and ignoring," writes artist Murad Subay in a caption next to his mural.

The Yemeni street artist has painted his latest work on the facade of one of the buildings of the Berliner Union Film Ateliers (BUFA), which serves as a film campus. Located next to the former Tempelhof Airport, the first film studios on the site were built in 1912; classics such as Marlene Dietrich's Blue Angel were partly shot there.

BUFA is also the main location of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin, which comes to a close on September 25. Now in its fourth year, the festival's 2021 edition ran under the title "The Art of Change."

As one of these artists for change, Subay was invited to take part in a group exhibition during the festival and to create this piece.

The figures are part of his series "Faces of War," which express how "the horrors of war swallow everything," Subay told DW.

Street art as a symbol of hope
Born in 1987 in Dhamar, Yemen, Subay started painting on buildings after the Yemeni Revolution in 2011. 

Like many in the Arab Spring protests that erupted that year in the Middle East and North Africa, Yemeni demonstrators were initially calling for better economic conditions and reforms against corruption. 

But, within a few months, armed supporters joined the opposition, leading to heavy street fighting against the loyalist security forces in Yemen's capital, Sanaa.

The buildings scarred by missiles became Murad Subay's canvas. "I wanted to show that there is art in these places, that there's hope, that people are still fighting in a very depressing moment, when a country is deciding on its history," he explains.

Even though he's often been compared to fellow political street artist Banksy, Subay does not work alone and anonymously. He rather involves the local population in his series of artistic "campaigns," as he calls his street art projects.

DW