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.

Kadhim Nwir, Untitled, 2011. Courtesy of the artist.