( CNN ) -- An image juxtaposing a famous painting of lovers and the ruins of a building in Syria has gone viral , becoming a powerful symbol of the country 's devastation from civil war . `` Freedom Graffiti , '' by Syrian artist-in-exile Tammam Azzam , digitally superimposes Austrian painter Gustav Klimt 's masterpiece `` The Kiss '' -- a gilded image of lovers embracing -- over a bullet-ridden wall in Syria . Syria 's civil war is now approaching its second anniversary . The United Nations estimated last month that the death toll in the conflict had surpassed 60,000 . Azzam 's image has gone viral since it was put online last week , attracting more than 35,000 `` likes '' and 25,000 `` shares '' on Facebook since Friday . While the artwork is a purely digital creation , Azzam , who fled to Dubai with his wife and daughter seven months into the conflict , told CNN he hoped to return to his homeland one day to create a physical version of the work . `` When I can return to Syria I have vowed to paint 'The Kiss ' onto Syria 's infrastructure , '' said the 33-year-old artist . `` I can not say if it will be the same wall though , as who knows if it will still be standing . '' Read also : Syrian artists fight Assad regime with satire . Azzam said he began creating digital art as a form of protest shortly after leaving his country -- where his parents remain -- because he did not want to fight in the army . The work was part of a series , `` The Syrian Museum , '' that was exhibited in a collection at Dubai 's Ayyam Gallery , which represents Azzam , last year . The works referenced other European Masters such as Goya , Picasso and Da Vinci , he said , juxtaposing `` some of the greatest achievements of humanity with the devastation in my country . ''
An image of Klimt 's `` The Kiss '' superimposed over a destroyed Syrian building has gone viral . A picture that shows the destruction caused by an airstrike in Syria was shared on social media with the caption: '' He hopes to return to his homeland and create a physical version of the artwork one day .