Duhok
Duhok (; ; , ) is a city in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is the capital city of Duhok Governorate.
Name
The city of Duhok received its name from the Kurdish words ’du’ (two) and ’hok’ (lump) as a tax payment of two lumps from the baske ...
,
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...
) is a Kurdish painter and artist. He is currently based in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, United Kingdom.
Education and early life
He was born into a family of a
Sunni Muslim
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...
background and had four brothers and a sister. His father was involved in the Kurdish revolutionary movement and often in prison. The father was the breadwinner of his family and as his was often absent, he and his siblings had to work after school. His artistic skills have already raised some awareness in primary school, but weren't met with appraisal by the family at the time. Nevertheless, his father supported his desire to study art. He studied art at the Institute of Fine Arts in
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
from which he graduated in 1976. He then travelled to
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
(present day
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
) and where he studied
graphic art
A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional graphics, i.e. produced on a flat surface, between 1977 and 1982 at the Academy of Fine Arts in
Ljubljana
{{Infobox settlement
, name = Ljubljana
, official_name =
, settlement_type = Capital city
, image_skyline = {{multiple image
, border = infobox
, perrow = 1/2/2/1
, total_widt ...
, from where he obtained a MSc. In 1984 he moved on to London due to the difficult situation in
Baathist Iraq
Ba'athist Iraq, officially the Iraqi Republic (1968–1992) and later the Republic of Iraq (1992–2003), was the Iraqi state between 1968 and 2003 under the one-party rule of the Iraqi regional branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. Th ...
.
Artistic career
He has developed a proficiency in several artistic fields like painting, printing and installations. Initially trained in artistic prints his artwork is now also including sketches and paintings. In his artistic artwork he lets himself get inspired by his cultural heritage of his homeland.
Exhibitions
* 1987, ''Three Kurdish Artists'', Kufa Gallery, London
* 1994, ''Timescapes'', curated by Rose Issa, Leighton House Museum, London
* 2008, ''Land on Fire'', curated by Rose Issa, Leighton House Museum, London
* 2011, ''The River Zei'', Rose Issa Projects, London.
* 2012, ''Alienation'', Barjeel Art Foundation,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
* 2013, ''In Dialogue'' with Modhir Ahmed, Abdulrahim Sharif and
Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa
Sheikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa (born 1952) is an interdisciplinary Bahraini visual artist and member of the Bahraini royal family. He is the current Chairman of Bahrain’s National Council for Arts and honorary president of the Bahrain ...
at the Art Centre,
Bahrain
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
.
* 2017, ''The Black Tower'', Zilberman Gallery'','' Berlin
Further reading
Walid Siti,
Kehrer Verlag
Kehrer Verlag is an art book publisher based in Heidelberg, Germany, specializing in photography, fine art, and sound art. Its books are produced in cooperation with Kehrer Design, the affiliated office for design and image processing.
History
T ...