Biography
For years, I’ve been working on proposing a project concerning the strangeness of life, its difficulty and the injustice facing humans caused by politics, religion, war, radicalism and the political and social corruption in the region. This reality has made life extremely difficult, and it has weakened the human capacity to hear the voice of the other and therefore alienating him.
I try to express this through working on the strange relations connecting the human, his brotherly human and the world they share. I present through my work the danger that confronts humans, in its various shapes, and aim to shock the audience and grab their attention to the disasters taking place. Through using various traditional art techniques, I explore the strangeness and foreignness in human relations with one another and with the concept of existence as a whole, to come out with what is not considered technically speaking traditional artwork.
I still believe in the power of painting and sculpting. I firmly believe in the renewal of this artistic expression and its relation to every individual, its relation to the human and its effect on the human soul. I believe in the revival of these techniques that are based on freedom and having the guts to deal with topics and techniques, where everything that is not expected in the artistic work is invested bravely without being lured by the market and the traditional aesthetics which require garnishing and ornamental furnishing.
I believe it is important that art represents an active cultural body far from traditional expectations and definitions that tie it to industrial luxuries. In fact, art makes up a new authority; it must be active and involved as a cultural axis which is able to offer criticism, condemnation and highlight the faults in our world such as poverty, women subjugation, religious extremism and others. It also should offer different, new and real aesthetic values, far from the lazy aesthetics that much of the conceptual work offer.
In relation to my vision for the Middle East, I believe I will be a fine representative for a number of reasons. Most importantly is my desire to present different art work that fights for the general grievances of this society, especially problems related to sectarianism, racism and religious extremism. I believe our role now is to present a new projection to the progressive youth in the Middle East. In addition to the knowledge I have from my extensive readings which have equipped me with an awareness about the role of art and its relation to one’s community and other communities and the way to elevate a community culturally and aesthetically, as well as the importance to open up to the other and adopt real ethical values for art, aesthetics and the community as a whole. I also believe I will be a suitable representative for the region given that I come from a community fragmented by what has befallen it as a model of political, religious and sectarian and ethnic ruin. I see myself as the ideal model to reveal the loving spirit in the midst of a society befallen by the greatest humanitarian disasters portrayed as a belligerent society.
I personally believe that I am the best to represent the Middle East for a number of details, first being that I carry with me a real concern about the need to defend the peaceful civil life. Given what I have lived of the reality and harshness of war, coming from a society that is made up by a mix of religions and ethnic backgrounds, and empowered by a big ambition to compensate for the gruesome life that Iraqis in specific lived. I will also be the right person to represent the Middle East given the awareness I have about all contemporary work, and I acknowledge the cultural value of strengthening art and supporting it through an internal, lively and secretive power, while simultaneously fighting sectarianism and racism. I value the pursuit of happiness in life through civility and democracy, in addition to the belief in building a social and natural environment that suits human civilization.
Finally, my reputation as a well-known artist among the people in the region will also add value in having the desired, far-reaching effect sought after by a work of art and its main role in denouncing and debating issues: increase the effectiveness of the artistic work, which is art’s main foundational goal ultimately.
