Why Abdulnasser uses the militry work to deliver his message

Gharem spent 23 years in the army, eventually being promoted to lieutenant colonel. Before he left the army last year he fought in "war after war," he says. "They'd throw us into the desert with a bottle of water and [hope] we survive." Gharem slept in trenches at night and drew in his sketchbook during slips of down time by day. Military life was ordered and unforgiving; the looser, messier intellectual process of making art helped to balance that rigidity and allowed his brain to unfurl.

"It took me a long time to find a way to manage being in the army and being an artist. It was so difficult," he says. "Being an officer, you have a lot of responsibilities and you have to follow orders. You can't say no. And when you do your art, you need to be totally free and neutral. Sometimes I felt like a double dealer."