THE SYRIAN REVOLUTION
Fares Cachoux left Syria years before the outbreak of the Arab Spring. Despite his absence, he maintained a strong connection with his homeland, which became the source of inspiration for some of his most celebrated works. The Syrian Revolution series recounts the events that unfolded in Syria, from the first calls for freedom to a complex conflict marked by violence and the involvement of multiple local, regional and international actors.
From 2012 onwards, Fares Cachoux's posters became true artistic chronicles, capturing the key figures and defining moments that shaped the collective memory of the Syrian people for almost a decade.
From the outset, the artist distinguished himself through both his unwavering commitment to democratic ideals, clearly identifying victims and perpetrators, and his ability to distill the most complex situations into a few graphic elements through a deliberately minimalist approach.
Many of these works have been published in leading international newspapers and magazines, including Le Monde and HuffPost, as well as in academic publications and even in a French school textbook. Their greatest impact, however, came when they appeared on the walls of countless Syrian towns and villages, where they became powerful visual symbols of the national protest movement.
Inside the Prisons of the Syrian Regime , 2015
Since the start of the Syrian revolution in 2011, the Bashar al-Assad regime has carried out merciless executions in the nightmarish cells of prisons such as Sednaya, also known as the "human slaughterhouse," and in multiple interrogation centres scattered across Syria. Tens of thousands of people were brutally killed in detention or died under torture before being buried in mass graves. Assad in Arabic means lion, hence the aggressive depiction of the lion in this work. Despite the war crimes committed and the widespread dissemination of documents and photographs providing evidence of the systematic and large-scale execution of prisoners, to date no concrete action has been taken to bring justice to the victims.
The People, 2012
March 2011 saw the largest popular uprising against the Syrian regime since Hafez al-Assad came to power, Bashar al-Assad’s father, who had ruled the country with an iron fist since 1971. What started as protests quickly turned into a multi-pronged uprising, catching the ruling junta by surprise and resulting in a profoundly unequal clash between a ruthless regime and an increasingly courageous and determined people, ready to sacrifice everything for their freedom and dignity.
Disturbing, 2016
From 2015, Russia intervened militarily in Syria under the pretext of combating terrorism. In reality it was to save Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which at the time was on the verge of collapse. Whilst Moscow provided extensive air defence, weapons and diplomatic support at the United Nations Security Council, Damascus granted Russia access to its strategic military bases, notably Hmeimim and Tartus, the latter being home to Russia’s only naval base in the Mediterranean.
This support enabled the regime to recapture large portions of territory and survive despite documented war crimes committed during the conflict. However, the relationship between the two leaders was never equal: Assad depended almost entirely on Putin, who used him as an instrument for projecting Russian influence and power throughout the Middle East.
On December 8th, 2024, after rebel forces captured Damascus and his government collapsed, Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, where he and his family were granted political asylum, marking the end of more than fifty years of the Assad family’s dictatorial rule in Syria.
Al Houla, 2012
Hell-bent on revenge against a village that had dared to protest against the regime, pro-government militias committed a massacre in Al-Houla, north of Homs, on May 25th, 2012. According to the UN, 108 civilians were killed, including 49 children and 34 women, all executed at close range or killed with bladed weapons before being buried in mass graves. As no action was taken to prevent such atrocities or to ensure justice for the victims, the Al-Houla massacre became a symbol of a barbaric regime willing to resort to horrific means to proclaim victory over its own people.
The artwork Al-Houla has been included in French high school textbooks.
Al Sarout, 2019
Abdul Baset al-Sarout was the goalkeeper for the Syrian youth national football team and later became an icon of the uprising. Known as the “Nightingale of the Revolution,” he joined the insurgency in his hometown of Homs in 2011. Famous for his revolutionary chants during demonstrations and funerals of fallen compatriots, he eventually took up arms and fought alongside various rebel groups until he was killed by Syrian regime forces in 2019 at the age of 27.
This work was chosen by the French newspaper Le Monde to illustrate an article devoted to the Arab revolutions.
Hamza is prettier than you, 2012
Images of Hamza Bakkour, a 13-year-old boy whose jaw was smashed during the Syrian army’s bombing of Homs in February 2012, shocked the world. Despite excruciating pain and severe bleeding, Bakkour remained conscious and aware of the severity of his injuries until his death a few hours later. His mangled face became a symbol of the Syrian revolution and of the indiscriminate brutality of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, as well as the systematic deprivation of essential medical care as a form of collective punishment.
Ibrahim Qashoush, 2014
Ibrahim Qashoush was considered an icon during the revolution as he captured the imagination of millions through his protest songs, the most popular one being “Yalla, Bashar, it’s time to leave”. These chants resounded en masse among the crowds in Hama. However, it was rumoured that his body was found in the Orontes River with his throat slit and vocal cords ripped out. Whilst this still isn’t confirmed, if true, Qashoush paid with his life for his courage in defying the Bashar al-Assad regime. His legacy still lives on in the region’s protest songs.
Jabhat Al-Nusra, 2015
The al-Nusra Front emerged in 2012 as a fighting faction of the Syrian armed opposition. It quickly revealed itself as the main representative of al-Qaeda ideology in Syria. This Salafist group not only challenged the Syrian regime but also annihilated other secular rebel groups, particularly the Free Syrian Army.
Kabab Halabi (Aleppo's Kabab), 2014
It was a relief to Bashar al-Assad’s regime that Aleppo was among the last of Syria’s cities to actively join the uprising. However, this changed in August 2012, when the battle for Syria’s second-largest city turned into open war. Government and pro-regime forces adopted a scorched earth policy against the rebellious city. The conflict, which lasted four years, devastated this ancient metropolis, famous worldwide for its cuisine, particularly its renowned Aleppine skewers. Tens of thousands of people lost their lives, and much of Aleppo and the surrounding areas were completely decimated.
Lavrov, 2014
Since the beginning of the Syrian revolution, Vladimir Putin’s regime had been staunchly hostile to any initiative calling for the resignation of Bashar al-Assad. Through the Kremlin’s fearsome foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, Russia vetoed and blocked attempts on seven occasions during UN meetings to pressure the Syrian regime.
The Caliph, 2014
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made a dramatic appearance in Iraq in 2014, where he proclaimed himself commander of ISIS and “the caliph of all Muslims on Earth,” a title he held until his death in 2019. His rise to power was rapid, as his army spread terror and death among populations already devastated by the brutality of the Syrian regime.
The Russian Bear, 2014
After providing extensive diplomatic and military support to the Syrian regime since the beginning of the revolution, in September 2015, Russia launched a direct military intervention in Syria. The operation occurred at a crucial stage of the uprising, when rebel forces had seized vast areas of the country. With brutal force, Moscow succeeded in changing the status quo, marking the beginning of what many describe as a near-total Russian hegemony over Syria.
This work was featured on the cover of the January 11th, 2017, edition of the French weekly magazine Courrier International.
Homs, 2012
The lesser-known city of Homs was never as wealthy as Damascus or Aleppo, but, as Syria’s third-largest city, it earned the status of the “Capital of the Revolution.” The insurgency grew from anti-government protests to a highly disproportionate three-year armed conflict. The Syrian regime besieged the old city, brutally suppressing the rebels and reducing entire neighbourhoods, suburbs, and the surrounding areas to rubble, turning them into ghost towns. Homs became the symbol of the nation’s aspiration, sacrifice, and agony. Today, Homs embodies Syria’s high cost for freedom.
The 5th speech, 2014
More than a year after the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, President Bashar al-Assad’s fifth speech, which lasted 70 minutes, diminished any glimmer of hope for a resolution and marked the point of no return towards full-blown conflict. In front of a puppet parliament, the Syrian leader once again demonstrated complete denial of reality. He repeated the words “terrorist” and “terrorism” forty-six times, labelling his opponents as shortsighted, criminals, mercenaries, and enemies of the state, and showed no willingness to make meaningful concessions that might have prevented the country from plunging into a vortex of violence and bloodshed.
Hafez is checking your profile. 2017
In the kingdom of fear, Hafez Al-Assad never dies. It’s all about the omnipresent nature of his legacy since his death in 2000 after ruling Syria with an iron fist 30 years. Featuring typical sunglasses of heinous Syrian secret service and holding a recent smartphone - nonexistent during his dictatorship - while suspiciously staring at the viewer, the father of the current president continues to have a thick presence in the devastated country, affirming the infamous state-sponsored slogan of an eternal al-Assad rule that haunted Syrian generations.