Eye Witness Symposium

Dr Maria Maclennan is an award-winning academic researcher, designer, and Senior Lecturer in Jewellery and Silversmithing at The University of Edinburgh. Her work as the world’s first ‘Forensic Jeweller’ follows the trail from jewellery to justice; carefully dissecting the role of objects in a variety of forensic and criminal contexts. As an educator, forensic artist, disaster response consultant, and court-verified expert witness, Maria has worked with law enforcement and investigative agencies across the globe to provide advice and training on the identification of jewellery recovered with human remains.

In Identifying the Displaced: Resurrecting Migrant Voices through Visual and Narrative, Dr Maria Maclennan will discuss the ‘Identifying the Displaced’ project. Told through the objects carried with individuals on their journey, the heart of the Identifying the Displaced project is a collection of c.500 personal belongings attributed to the identities of over 100 identified and unidentified migrants who have lost their lives along ‘The River of Death’, a particularly treacherous migratory crossing in Evros, North Greece. Utilsing visual and narrative approaches, each object is gifted with a unique first-person narrative: an attempt to humanise every individual story and bring visibility to hundreds of identities otherwise erased.

Dr Isber Sabrine is a Syrian Spanish archaeologist and Senior Researcher at the Milá and Fontanals Institute for Humanities Research (IMF-CSIC), as well as the President of Heritage for Peace. He is a cultural heritage expert with extensive experience in heritage preservation, particularly in conflict zones. He holds a PhD in Heritage Management and has worked on numerous projects dedicated to safeguarding cultural heritage in Syria and the broader Middle East. As the founder and president of Heritage for Peace, an international non-governmental organization, he has led efforts to protect endangered cultural sites, foster local and international collaboration, and support the post-conflict recovery of heritage. His work emphasizes community-based approaches to cultural preservation and highlights the role of heritage in rebuilding and reconciliation processes.

In his presentation Heritage in Conflict: Eyewitness Accounts and Protection Strategies Isber will explore how his work supports local communities, heritage professionals, and institutions in mitigating the impact of war through documentation, capacity-building, and advocacy. In conflict regions, heritage is often deliberately targeted, looted, or damaged, making protection efforts essential. The presentation will highlight his collaboration with stakeholders to enhance resilience, monitor at-risk sites, provide emergency stabilization, and counter illicit trafficking. A key focus will be on Palmyra, Syria, a UNESCO World Heritage site that suffered extensive destruction due to war. Sabrine has played an active role in assessing damage, supporting documentation efforts, and advocating for recovery strategies. Palmyra underscores the urgent need for international cooperation in safeguarding cultural heritage from conflict-related threats.

Giath Taha is a visual artist exploring the intersection of aesthetics and politics, examining how images both shape and are shaped by societal structures. His practice investigates the ways visual expression influences perception, interaction, and transformation within contemporary struggles.

In the talk The Aesthetics of Ambiguity, two pieces connected to the war in Syria will be presented. Through these works, visual language is explored as a means to create an immediate yet open-ended dialogue with the audience. Rather than offering a conventional narrative, this approach invites interpretation, reflecting the uncertainty and complexity of war. This talk will delve into how ambiguity itself becomes an aesthetic and emotional experience.

Lawrence Abu Hamdan is an Artist and audio investigator whose work explores auditory consciousness and memory within the law and human rights. He practices what he calls “forensic listening” documenting sound which can both incriminate and exonerate  In his work Walled Unwalled,  (part of HLG collection) currently on display,  he delivers a monologue citing  trials that have hinged on auditory evidence perceived and collected through doors and walls including the story of the survivors of Syria’s Saydnaya prison.

In his talk Ear Witness,  Hamden will speak about his work which explores auditory consciousness and memory within the law and human rights.

Suha Nabhan
Suha Nabhan is from Syria and Palestine. She is a strategic communications expert with over eight years of experience, with a focus on migration, social justice, storytelling and narratives, and collaborating with impact-focused initiatives. She is the co-founder of Migration Jam, a creative agency, led by migrants, to change the mainstream negative narrative about migration through storytelling. Co-founding a storytelling project in Syria has made focusing on day-to-day human stories beyond battle-lines. Suha has worked and collaborated with international organizations, curated conferences, and managed multi-platform campaigns to drive narrative change.