Wonderland is the touching story of the thirteen-year-old Muhammed. Muhammed, who has witnessed extreme violence, is from the city of Koban in Syria, which was besieged by the Islamic State (ISIS) forces in 2014−2015. The family crossed the Turkish border and took shelter in Derik in south-eastern Turkey, the hometown of artist Erkan Özgen. There Özgen met and befriended Muhammed. Unlike any other refugees Özgen encountered, Muhammed was keen to communicate what he had seen. Since he is deaf, Muhammed conveys a firsthand account of these traumatic events by using sign language.

Wonderland is a startling message against war. According to Özgen, Muhammed is our collective conscience and a metaphor for all those who have lost their homes to war. The story of Muhammed helps to look beyond the violent imagery of the media, into the everyday reality of war and human suffering.

Duration: 3’ 54”.

Wonderland is on display in the media space of Touch exhibition.