English

Interview

‘I have lived my life by rivers’: Hashim Taeeh’s new work on the water crisis in Basra

The Basra-based Hashim Taeeh has addressed the water crisis in Basra and southern Iraq in a new series of paintings. Dams built by neighbouring countries at the sources of the Tigris and Euprates rivers have reduced the levels of fresh water flowing into Iraq. As a result, sea water from the Persian Gulf has increased…

Event

Ruya Shop: Ayman Al Amiri’s Alleys (2018)

The Ruya Shop is launching a series of small exhibitions by artists predominantly based in Iraq. This month, Baghdad-based photographer Ayman Al Amiri will present his new work in an exhibition entitled Zuqaq (Alley) which consists of a short documentary film Zuqaq (2018) co-produced by Ruya, alongside a selection of black and white photographs of…

Essay

Rematerialising Mosul’s Textile History

Dr Zena Kamash is a Senior Lecturer in Roman Archaeology and Art, Department of Classics, Royal Holloway University of London. One of the (many) things that has always fascinated me about Neo-Assyrian reliefs is the intricate details of the clothes and their decoration; I could spend, and have spent, hours gazing at them. It is…

Interview

Artists Should Reflect the Struggle for Freedom and Power: Interview with the Artist Satta Hashem.

Satta Hashem is an Iraqi artist based in Leicester, UK. Hashem was born in Buhriz, a city in the Diyala Province that was known for its support of Iraq’s Communist party, and moved to Baghdad with his family as a child. Hashem started as a self-taught artist before studying in Algeria, and later at the…