Purple Haze

“Purple Haze” reflects the brutal distance between witnessing conflict and speaking about it from safety. The title refers to the surreal colors, smoke and atmosphere surrounding explosions and bombardments, something instantly recognizable to those who have stood close enough to feel the pressure, heat and silence afterward.

The painting symbolizes the confrontation between reality and observation. Some images never fully leave the mind because they were never meant to be normal human experiences in the first place. Yet decisions about war, crisis and operational environments are often shaped by people who never stood inside them, never smelled the burning air and never watched the horizon disappear behind smoke and impact.

The figures inside the work are not heroes. They are witnesses. Small silhouettes standing before something larger than explanation itself, trying to process moments most people will never see in their lifetime.

“Purple Haze” reflects the invisible separation between those who discuss conflict and those who physically carry its memory afterward.

Created on canvas using acrylic paint applied with my combat knife. Parts of the paint were spread using fabric from a shirt I wore during bombardments in Beirut, sections of which were burned during the explosions. I use real operational materials to leave something of myself behind in the canvas to give the are a soul.

Dimensions 50 X 70 cv on canvas