I have seen officers pulling out captured insurgent’s larynx with his bare hands and laughing that this is Rambo’s style. I have seen them ordering soldiers to crush captives lying on the ground under a tank. Leaving wounded soldiers or finishing them off is an everyday reality – says Muhammad Anwat, who deserted from the government army and joined the rebels.
The album is coverless and almost 50 cm long. It is packed in a grey, sealed sack, a signal that this is a consignment from afar.
12 Faces is a significant work. The war in Syria is also a propaganda war. It is worth knowing why it broke out and what they are fighting for. The album doesn't answer all of these questions but relies on individual testimonies, which can't be put into perspective. Filip Ćwiek substituted the figures flashing in the evening news with people whose stare we have to endure.
I just had to do this album for them, for myself, for my sons. From fear, helplessness, but also from gratefulness that I can walk my boys to school – says Filip Ćwiek.
Author: Dariusz Bochenek. Translated by W.O., 13.02.2013