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Reflections from Dia Azzawi
How did your story with art begin? What attracted you to painting?
As a child, I particularly enjoyed drawing, and would often copy images from magazines or draw my family at home. At that time, I preferred to utilize watercolors on paper. Upon reaching secondary school, I was fortunate enough to benefit from the encouragement of my art teacher, who allowed me to use the studio at the school. There I was able to experiment with a wider range of media.
What influences your art?
As a young man studying archaeology, I encountered the ancient art of the Middle East – Sumerian sculptures, Assyrian reliefs and others – all of which heavily influenced my work, and continue to do so today. I was also increasingly fascinated by the old poetry and mythology of Mesopotamia, and began producing art based around the famous Gilgamesh epic.
You have been quoted: “”I may be British on paper, but in reality I’m an Arab. The colours I use are also Arab.”What are the Arab colors? Does every Arab region have its own colors, Mesopotamia, Iraq, the Gulf, Egypt, Al-Maghreb?
These are the colors of the Bedouins, of the desert. Almost all tribes, from Morocco to the Gulf, share a preference for warm colors – reds, oranges, yellows – in contrast to Europe, where pastels are more common. Such colors stand out against the neutral tones of the desert, and, indeed, Bedouins will often surround a black tent with textiles of vibrant colours, as if replicating a garden.
You are famous for your dafatirs. Can you describe what they are? What about “The Book of Shame?”
Dafatirs are original works that take the form of a book, where the pages are themselves transformed into a canvas; often, the images are married with verse, though the narrative they represent is an abstract interpretation, rather than an illustration, of the text. I have been interested in Dafatirs for some considerable time, producing my first piece back in 1968, entitled ‘The Blood of Hussein.’… As for the ‘Book of Shame,’ this is a work about the destruction of the Iraqi Museum, and the brutality of the invasion.
You are known to be leader on the subject of the looting of the museum of Iraq and the treasures of Mesopotamia. How have you been involved?
In terms of Modern Iraqi Art, I have in recent years been assisting Dr. Nada Shabout in this area. Difficulties arise as a result of the lack of documentation, for pieces can spend several years wandering the market unnoticed. Initially, the early government could have prevented this by purchasing back the stolen items from the looters. In the long run, this would have in fact proved less costly, because the looters seldom possessed an understanding of the true value of the pieces.
Pierre Cardin bought two of your paintings in Paris. What were they? Did any other fashion designers buy your work?
Pierre Cardin is of course most renowned as a fashion designer, but he is also prominent for his work with furniture. The two paintings of mine that he bought from Fiac art fair were later incorporated into his space at a furniture exhibition, as the colours of the paintings complimented those used for his furniture.
What do you think of Botero’s work? His collection of Abu Ghrayb’s prisoners? His collection that he donated about to National Colombian museum of Arts about the kidnappings of Colombian citizens? He refused to sell them saying that he refusing to make money off the wounds of his compatriots. Any similar initiative on your part?
Whilst I do not like the style of Botero’s work, I nonetheless appreciate his moral stance concerning Abu Ghraib and the appalling acts of torture committed there. On my own part, I refused to sell a large painting that I made about the (Sabra) massacre in Beirut.
Iraq has a very rich cultural heritage. Iraqi’s have always been known as leaders in the Arab World in the cultural arenas: poetry, paining, sculpting, literature. How do you think the sanctions and later the war and tragedies inflicted on our beloved Iraq affected the rich heritage and collective art produced in Iraq today? Also who do you see as promising in the new generation?
The sanctions during the nineties had a significant and immediate effect on art in the sense that a lot of artists were forced to leave the country. Simultaneously, it forced the young generation to use very cheap materials to produce their work, resulting in a limited life span for such pieces. Also, maybe, it pushed the young artists to create something different than before in order to accommodate these new materials.
Unfortunately, however, there is no real documentation of the hardship at this time. Most of the works produced were inspired by very normal topics, far from the difficulties of the present. This probably played a role in pushing many of the young artists to leave Iraq and seek asylum abroad in Europe. The Iraqi community is now much like that of the Palestinians, scattered across the world. Of those young artists who left Iraq, I notice a very small number who I feel to be truly promising in the long run.
Ahmad K. Minkara
Dia-Boutique.com