Iraq - Amna Suraka
The project culminated in an emotive show at the UCMK Gallery in Milton Keynes, which is made from a collection of work I created whilst on a recent trip to Iraq.
I went looking to explore the story of the Iraq still unseen, to engage with the lives, questions and challenges the media has been ignoring. Though I wanted to tell their story, I soon realised that I could not do this as well as the Iraqi people themselves. I have subsequently co-curated an exhibition of art work by Iraqi people which is currently touring here in Europe. “Iraq – The Forgotten Story” gives the Iraqi people an opportunity to have their own voice.
In my own work I have tried to show my perspective of the place and I want to convey some of the highs and lows of the experiences in Iraq.
The show depicts three main series of work; the first is a collection of portraits showing the common humanity, including the beauty and dignity clearly found in the Iraqi people.
The second is a series of large format prints depicting the inside of Amna Suraka, a Baath Regime prison in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniya. I spent an extensive time on my own documenting the inside of the darkest place I have ever been to. Torture, rape and death happened in this place on a daily basis. The trip and specifically this experience has affected me profoundly and subsequently has become a focus for this series of work.
The third, a video installation created in one of the cells from Amna Suraka from 3,000+ photos. At one point the electricity failed and I was left in complete darkness, it was emotional. I want the work to reveal this space to you. However, the restricted view a single image gives you only allows you to view small areas at a time. Like the way my eyes darted around the space, the work will force you to slowly see every inch.
For the show in the UCMK Gallery I went onto create a large (6m x 3m) photo-montage for the upstairs space in the gallery. The thousands of prints have been cut and attached directly onto the wall and it is therefore a temporary installation. This 360° distorted panorama will envelop the viewer in the space that will seem connected to the truth yet some how painterly.
The work is not intended to be political, however, anything engaging with the subject of Iraq cannot avoid the political and historical context. In the midst of our political posturing about the rights and wrongs of the war, we seem to miss the people and their stories. The work does not claim to make any bold statements, rather the artist would prefer you to come view the work and make your own conclusions.