Colossal figures roam, float and look back across old maps of Baghdad in the surreal and intensely personal solo exhibition of Dutch-Iraqi artist Sadik Kwaish Alfraji.
Entitled Those Houses Behind the Army Canal, Alfraji’s new body of work, on show at Ayyam Gallery in Dubai's Alserkal Avenue, consists of large-scale paintings, drawings, digital prints and video works.
Alfraji dug deep into the history of his father’s generation in Iraq and the urban changes in Baghdad, melding them with his own memories, personal experiences and the ever-evolving idea of identity, creating a cohesive, yet diverse collection of work.
“I’m very aware that any personal experience is, in truth, a human experience,” Alfraji tells The National.
“It can find a link with others, even if they are from different societies and cultures.”
Through a personal and very specific family history and narrative, Alfraji creates images across mediums that tell universal tales.
