Ali Heydar & Michiel Burger

Ali Heydar & Michiel Burger

Location: Belgium

Ali Heydar (1992, Deir-ez-Zor) was born in Syria. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he relocated to the Flemish village of Essen. He met Michiel Burger (1983, Yamoussoukro) in Antwerp, around 2014 where the two men worked together for several years collecting garbage in the Antwerp municipality of Schilde.

These drawings are part of a collection of drawings made between 2016 and 2026 during a collaborative effort by Michiel Burger and Ali Heydar to document personal memories of a non-specified conflict in the Middle East. Over time, the focus of this project slowly diverged toward an array of subjects such as myths, historical events, childhood memories, and other dubious anecdotes.


Portfolio:

Ali Heydar & Michiel Burger

Ali Heydar (1992, Deir-ez-Zor) was born in Syria. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he ended up in the Flemish village of Essen. He met Michiel Burger (1983, Yamoussoukro) in Antwerp, where the two men worked together for several years collecting garbage in the Antwerp municipality of Schilde.

These drawings are part of a collection of drawings made between 2016 and 2025 during a collaborative effort by Michiel Burger and Ali Heydar to document personal memories of a non-specified conflict in the Middle East. Over time, the focus of this project slowly diverged toward an array of subjects such as myths, historical events, childhood memories, and other dubious anecdotes.

Crematorium IV “Crematorium IV”

Ali Heydar (1992, Deir-ez-Zor) was born in Syria. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he ended up in the Flemish village of Essen. He met Michiel Burger (1983, Yamoussoukro) in Antwerp, where the two men worked together for several years collecting garbage in the Antwerp municipality of Schilde.
This drawing is part of a collection of drawings made between 2016 and 2025 during a collaborative effort by Michiel Burger and Ali Heydar to document personal memories of a non-specified conflict in the Middle East. Over time, the focus of this project slowly diverged toward an array of subjects such as myths, historical events, childhood memories, and other dubious anecdotes.

Allotment “Allotment”

Ali Heydar (1992, Deir-ez-Zor) was born in Syria. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he ended up in the Flemish village of Essen. He met Michiel Burger (1983, Yamoussoukro) in Antwerp, where the two men worked together for several years collecting garbage in the Antwerp municipality of Schilde.
This drawing is part of a collection of drawings made between 2016 and 2025 during a collaborative effort by Michiel Burger and Ali Heydar to document personal memories of a non-specified conflict in the Middle East. Over time, the focus of this project slowly diverged toward an array of subjects such as myths, historical events, childhood memories, and other dubious anecdotes.

Car “Car”

Ali Heydar (1992, Deir-ez-Zor) was born in Syria. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he ended up in the Flemish village of Essen. He met Michiel Burger (1983, Yamoussoukro) in Antwerp, where the two men worked together for several years collecting garbage in the Antwerp municipality of Schilde.
This drawing is part of a collection of drawings made between 2016 and 2025 during a collaborative effort by Michiel Burger and Ali Heydar to document personal memories of a non-specified conflict in the Middle East. Over time, the focus of this project slowly diverged toward an array of subjects such as myths, historical events, childhood memories, and other dubious anecdotes.

Apartment Building “Apartment Building”

Ali Heydar (1992, Deir-ez-Zor) was born in Syria. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he ended up in the Flemish village of Essen. He met Michiel Burger (1983, Yamoussoukro) in Antwerp, where the two men worked together for several years collecting garbage in the Antwerp municipality of Schilde.
This drawing is part of a collection of drawings made between 2016 and 2025 during a collaborative effort by Michiel Burger and Ali Heydar to document personal memories of a non-specified conflict in the Middle East. Over time, the focus of this project slowly diverged toward an array of subjects such as myths, historical events, childhood memories, and other dubious anecdotes.

Mosque “Mosque”

Ali Heydar (1992, Deir-ez-Zor) was born in Syria. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he ended up in the Flemish village of Essen. He met Michiel Burger (1983, Yamoussoukro) in Antwerp, where the two men worked together for several years collecting garbage in the Antwerp municipality of Schilde.
This drawing is part of a collection of drawings made between 2016 and 2025 during a collaborative effort by Michiel Burger and Ali Heydar to document personal memories of a non-specified conflict in the Middle East. Over time, the focus of this project slowly diverged toward an array of subjects such as myths, historical events, childhood memories, and other dubious anecdotes.

Knight “Knight”

Ali Heydar (1992, Deir-ez-Zor) was born in Syria. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he ended up in the Flemish village of Essen. He met Michiel Burger (1983, Yamoussoukro) in Antwerp, where the two men worked together for several years collecting garbage in the Antwerp municipality of Schilde.
This drawing is part of a collection of drawings made between 2016 and 2025 during a collaborative effort by Michiel Burger and Ali Heydar to document personal memories of a non-specified conflict in the Middle East. Over time, the focus of this project slowly diverged toward an array of subjects such as myths, historical events, childhood memories, and other dubious anecdotes.