The abstract canvases of Kadhim Nwir (b. 1967, Qadisiyah, Iraq) reflect urban life through a combination of distressed colour and graffiti-like drawing. Stencilled letters and numbers sometimes convey clear messages – “IRAQ”, “2003” – or they embody a meaning known only to the artist, superimposed on layers of vague pictorial references. Such expressive and complex mark-making, in light of difficult circumstances, reads as a kind of existential self-awareness. The emphasis placed on the individual conscience of the artist has long been a concern for Nwir, who considers the painted surface to be an accumulation of daily events.
Kadhim Nwir, Untitled, 2011. Courtesy of the artist.