Welcome to Iraq
15 Mar - 01 Jun 2014
© Jamal Penjweny
Saddam is Here, 2009-2010
photograph, size variable
courtesy the artist and RUYA Foundation
Saddam is Here, 2009-2010
photograph, size variable
courtesy the artist and RUYA Foundation
WELCOME TO IRAQ
Hareth Alhomaam / Bassim Al-Shaker / Cheeman Ismaeel / Furat al Jamil / Akeel Khreef / Kadhim Nwir / Jamal Penjweny / Abdul Raheem Yassir / Ali Samiaa / AMI (Yaseen Wami, Hashim Taeeh)
15 March - 1 June 2014
"Iraq... but not as we know it: a new exhibition that shows the country in a whole new light" The Independent
4/5 stars "There’s a calm, welcoming air fostered by sofas with beautiful throws, tables full of books, films playing on laptops and Iraqi tea and biscuits on tap for visitors" Metro
The South London Gallery presents a restaging of the group exhibition, Welcome to Iraq, originally shown as part of the National Pavilion of Iraq in the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013. Works in a variety of media by eleven contemporary artists, most of whom live and work in Iraq, were selected to highlight the breadth of artistic practice in Iraq and a creativity borne out of necessity in extraordinary historical circumstances.
Commissioned by Ruya Foundation for Contemporary Culture in Iraq (RUYA), established in 2012 to promote culture in Iraq, Welcome to Iraq is curated by Jonathan Watkins, Director of Ikon Gallery, Birmingham.
Hareth Alhomaam / Bassim Al-Shaker / Cheeman Ismaeel / Furat al Jamil / Akeel Khreef / Kadhim Nwir / Jamal Penjweny / Abdul Raheem Yassir / Ali Samiaa / AMI (Yaseen Wami, Hashim Taeeh)
15 March - 1 June 2014
"Iraq... but not as we know it: a new exhibition that shows the country in a whole new light" The Independent
4/5 stars "There’s a calm, welcoming air fostered by sofas with beautiful throws, tables full of books, films playing on laptops and Iraqi tea and biscuits on tap for visitors" Metro
The South London Gallery presents a restaging of the group exhibition, Welcome to Iraq, originally shown as part of the National Pavilion of Iraq in the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013. Works in a variety of media by eleven contemporary artists, most of whom live and work in Iraq, were selected to highlight the breadth of artistic practice in Iraq and a creativity borne out of necessity in extraordinary historical circumstances.
Commissioned by Ruya Foundation for Contemporary Culture in Iraq (RUYA), established in 2012 to promote culture in Iraq, Welcome to Iraq is curated by Jonathan Watkins, Director of Ikon Gallery, Birmingham.