Hanaa malallah biography examples

In the 70s and 80s in Iraq, many female artists were forced to assume gender roles and were forbidden from pursuing their artistic practice. Regardless, Malalah continued to produce work: the very essence of her work is about chaos, invasion and the abuse of power. She received numerous death threats and eventually had no choice but to leave Iraq, where she moved to Paris and then settled London in This does not mean that I am reproducing the idea of war.

The Last Five Years.

Hanaa malallah biography examples: Hanaa Malallah was born

Over the last five years I have often pondered the irony of living as a refugee in the very country that was — at least partially — instrumental in engineering the context which caused me to flee my home. Ironic, because London, this hub of the global art world, embraced me and my war culture, took my war aesthetics and expanded its language beyond the particularities of my Iraqi or Middle Eastern background.

To physically taste war is completely different than to experience it second-hand. The first lesson taught by physically tasting war is that ruination is the essence of all being: Death has no meaning and anything solid can be reduced to nothing in seconds. The learning of this process of vanishing, this morphing of matter to dust, of something into nothing, has led me to conclude that ruination, or destruction is hidden de facto in the phenomenon of figuration.

Hanaa malallah biography examples: Hanaa Malallah (born ) is

Thus, for the last five years explored the space located between figuration and abstraction, between existing and vanishing, a concept which for me also holds deep spiritual meaning. Clearly, this technique owes its existence to the lethal face of war. Iraq was barely recovering from eight years of war with Iran whilst getting ready for armed engagement with Kuwait leading to the disastrous Gulf War and years of sanctions.

Arabesque from Baghdad Arabesque from Baghdad Oil and burnt canvas, x cm. Arabesque from Baghdad. Peace Trade I. Barzakh : Obstacle Barzakh : Obstacle Wood and mixed media with light and sound installation, x Barzakh : Obstacle.

Hanaa malallah biography examples: Hanaa Malallah () is

Barzakh : Obstacle detail Barzakh : Obstacle detail Wood and mixed media with light and sound installation, x Barzakh : Obstacle detail. Virtual History. Chrysalis Chrysalis Mixed media with butterfly, x cm. She moved to Baghdad with her family when she was aged five years. These experiences had a major influence on her work. She is part of the so-called Eighties Generation as the group of Iraqi artists active during the s are known.

This group drew inspiration from the Archeological Museumas Mallalah herself acknowledges in her essay, "Consciousness of Isolation," published in As a female artist and professor of art, working in Iraq in the 70s and 80s, she received a number of threats against her life. For this reason, she felt that she had no choice but to leave Iraq and accept a new life outside her native land.

However, she has said that she feels spiritually depleted living outside Iraq. Inshe held a fellowship at the Chelsea College of Arts in London. Much of her work deals with themes around the "chaos of war" which she had experienced in Iraq. Beginning in the s, while still in Iraq, Malallah developed a technique which she called the ruins technique.

Born out of the scarcity of art materials in war-ravaged Iraq, she turned to items that were readily available in her immediate surroundings, such as burnt paper, torn cloth, barbed wire, splintered wood and bullets. This technique refers both to ancient and contemporary Iraq. On the one hand, it relates to the damage that objects undergo when they are destroyed — something that I am familiar with, having seen destruction of buildings, objects and relics up close.

On the other hand, the Ruins Technique allows me a unique way to express my sensitive reading of shape and colour which I gained from my studies and writings on Ancient Mesopotamia