THE NAMES OF THOSE KILLED IN THE SYRIAN CONFLICT, BETWEEN 15th OF MARCH 2011 AND 31st OF DECEMBER 2016 Favorite 

A performance by artist Santiago Sierra, titled THE NAMES OF THOSE KILLED IN THE SYRIAN CONFLICT, BETWEEN 15th OF MARCH 2011 AND 31st OF DECEMBER 2016, took place for a total duration of eight days from May 21 to 29, across four cities on three continents.

Sierra, a native of Spain, did not perform the work himself; instead native Arabic speakers, including refugees, first and second generation migrants, school teachers, actors, and more—a total of around 16 performers in each city—recite dthe names aloud.

“As a contemporary of this massacre i am inevitably connected to it. On the other hand, I am moved by a deep shame of being European and seeing the infamy with which those fleeing from Syria or from any other disaster are treated. The Mediterranean is a cemetery and Europe a cave of pirates,” the artist tells artnet News of his motivation to create the performance.

The work began in Israel, at the Centre for Contemporary Art in Tel Aviv, on May 21 at 4 pm, and continued there for 48 hours, the entirety of which time the public is welcome in the gallery. It was also streamed live on Sierra’s website.

Then, the performance continued to Austria, at the Wiener Festwochen in Vienna, from May 23 at 3 pm to May 25 at 3 pm, and from there to England, to Lisson Gallery in London, for 48 hours beginning on May 25 at 2 pm. It was completed at the Performance Biennale BP.17 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a leg lasting 56 hours and 43 minutes, starting on May 27 at 10 am, and continued until May 29 at 6:43 pm.

Names of the deceased were gathered by the Grupo de Investigación sobre el Conflicto en Siria (GICS), led by Pedro Brieger, Professor of Sociology of the Middle East at the University of Buenos Aires.