new acquisition

Mohamed Bouazizi

by Erin Currier

web # 9972

Original Paintings

Mixed Media on Panel

60"h x 48"w

Tareq al-Tayyib Muhammad Bouazizi (March 29, 1984 – January 4, 2011; Arabic: طارق الطيب محمد البوعزيزي‎), known simply as Mohamed Bouazizi, was a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire on December 17th, 2010, in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the harassment and humiliation that he reported was inflicted on him by municipal officials. His act became a catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution, inciting demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues within the country. The public's anger and violence intensified following Bouazizi's death, leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, to step down on January 14th, 2011, after 23 years in power.
The success of the Tunisian protests sparked protests in several other Arab countries, including a similar revolution in Egypt, uprisings against the Yemeni and Syrian regimes, and the ongoing civil war in Libya. The protests included several men who emulated Bouazizi's act of self-immolation, in an attempt to bring an end to their own autocratic governments. Those men, and Bouazizi, were hailed by some Arab commentators as "heroic martyrs of a new Middle Eastern revolution."