ABSTRACT
Lebanese artist Rabih Mroué’s documentary installation, Pixelated Revolution, showcases a frightening and unbelievable phenomenon: civilian victims of snipers documenting their own deaths in the Syrian civil war. This is a complex example of how a prominent member of the professional art world lends agency to the victims of an armed conflict in a country that is notoriously known for its brutal disregard for civil rights. Pixelated Revolution poses a number of interesting questions: How can documentary evidence be used to represent victims? Where do we situate the multifaceted use of drama and documentary in contemporary art? How does art meaningfully address the question of human rights suspended between suffering, catastrophe, and historical significance?
