English

Bassim Al-Shaker

One of the youngest artists in the exhibition, Bassim Al-Shaker (b. 1986, Baghdad, Iraq) is stylistically one of its most traditional, making oil paintings that would very much impress his teachers at the local academy. Eschewing any sign of avant-gardism he paints scenes of the southern marshlands, suggesting a lifestyle there of unbroken tradition. The recent…

Cheeman Ismaeel

Cheeman Ismaeel (b. 1966, Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan) is a painter who applies her decorative style not only to canvases but also to household objects, such as a television, a clock, an oil heater and a lunchbox. The proposition is refreshingly personal and unpretentious, blurring the line conventionally drawn between fine and decorative art. Her attempt to…

Ali Samiaa

Filmmaker Ali Samiaa (b. 1980, Baghdad, Iraq) will be presenting a new film, The Love of Butterflies, for the occasion of his participation in the pavilion. It tells a story in which dramatic tension is derived from a balance struck between marital infidelity and family commitment, between a firm moral stance and sympathy. Samiaa is part…

Hareth Alhomaam

Hareth Alhomaam (b. 1987, Baghdad, Iraq) will present a short film, Buzz, which exemplifies the stilted, mediated nature of communications between the sexes in modern Iraq in spite of the advent of social media. We follow the short story of a young man and a young woman as they navigate daily life in Baghdad with family…