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Image 1 of 20:Twenty-seven-year-old Mohammad Kamal al-Amari hails from Deraa, a Syrian city just north of the Jordanian border. Deraa was the starting point of the 2011 uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Its a war-ravaged region that most of Zaataris residents once called home.

Image 1 of 20:I worked as an art teacher for four years; I used to be a member of the Deraa Contemporary Art Association and I participated in many art exhibitions, with projects in different media, said al-Amari. A key member of the Fountain of Youth group, hes been living at Zaatari for 7 months.

Image 1 of 20:The artist paints intricate scenes in a variety of styles. Acrylic paint and watercolors, pen and pencil all contribute to rich portrayals of daily life in the midst of civil war. His colors explode off the paper, but his scenes convey a quiet humanity.

Image 1 of 20:Reducing his palette to paper and ballpoint pen, al-Amari shows cartoonist chops worthy of The New Yorker, or the long-defunct Punch. This explosive example parodies the war in (and on) Syria. Wed love to see him expand his work into a graphic novel - Marjane Satrapi, Chris Ware and Art Spiegelman, are you seeing this?

Image 1 of 20:The artist statement for Mahmoud al Hariri says simply,Deraa is my hometown, where I got my high school diploma. After that, I continued my studies in contemporary art. I have participated in many art exhibits in Syria, as well as Jordan since coming to Za'atari. Hes lived in the camp for 18 months (if you call that living).

Image 1 of 20:The talented Mr. al-Hariri is more animated in person, Drawing is more than just a hobby. Its the method I use to express everything I have in my mind and to spread my message to everyone, regardless of the difference in their languages and beliefs. The former art student is 24 years old.

Image 1 of 20:Al-Hariri works in watercolors (on proper watercolor paper). Saturated pigments and shadowy forms evoke strong emotions. He tells us that painting offers an escape from a real life that is hard to comprehend. Perhaps its appropriate here to paraphrase another great artist, Robin Williams: Reality, what a concept.

Image 1 of 20:As with all his colleagues at the show, Eyad al-Sabagh lived in Deraa before moving to Zaatari. He laughed when asked if they knew each other before the camp, You know, it was a big city - once. Art is a hobby for the 27 year old who is starting his 19th month in the camp.

Image 1 of 20:Hobby? If only we all were as skilled in our hobbies as al-Sabagh is. An excellent draftsman, his carefully rendered pencilworks use color sparingly for knock-out impact. Many of his works are ironic, as in these joyful eyes in a wounded face.

Image 1 of 20:Looking at press photos from the exhibition opening, it became apparent that this artist is unafraid of large scale formats (by the closing ceremony, many of his works had been removed, and we assume sold). What remained on display were brutal depictions of carnage, unlikely to appeal to souvenir hunters and home decorators.

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