The abstract canvases of Kadhim Nwir (b. 1967, Qadisiyah, Iraq), which were first exhibited at the Pavilion of Iraq at the 55th Venice Biennale, reflect urban life through a combination of distressed colour and graffiti-like drawing. Stencilled letters and numbers sometimes convey clear messages – “IRAQ”, “2003” – or they embody a meaning known only to the artist, superimposed on layers of vague pictorial references. Such expressive and complex mark-making, in light of difficult circumstances, reads as a kind of existential self-awareness. The emphasis placed on the individual conscience of the artist has long been a concern for Nwir, who considers the painted surface to be an accumulation of daily events.
Artist Kadhim Nwir stands in front of his works.
The abstract canvases of Kadhim Nwir (b. 1967, Qadisiyah, Iraq), which were first exhibited at the Welcome to Iraq exhibition at the 55th Venice Biennale, reflect urban life through a combination of distressed colour and graffiti-like drawing. Stencilled letters and numbers sometimes convey clear messages – “IRAQ”, “2003” – or they embody a meaning known only to the artist, superimposed on layers of vague pictorial references. Such expressive and complex mark-making, in light of difficult circumstances, reads as a kind of existential self-awareness. The emphasis placed on the individual conscience of the artist has long been a concern for Nwir, who considers the painted surface to be an accumulation of daily events.
Have you always been an abstract painter?
I have always shifted between abstract and representational work. The ideas I’m drawn to are modernity and the sense of self.
How has your academic background in the philosophy of art influenced your work?
Art for me is primarily a visual experience. I don’t want to burden my work with the ideas I developed as a doctoral candidate and a professor, but they inevitably seep through!
What inspired your series of paintings on display at the pavilion?
I was inspired by contemporary life in Iraq – it is a life of daily pain, darkness, death and oppression. Since childhood, I have seen caravans carrying dead and disabled people or young men getting on buses and never coming back. Everything was destroyed in Iraq. Even after 2003, when we believed that we would live in freedom, we got into another cycle of death. Everything was booby-trapped, part of a big plan in which humanity was the victim. Through my work, I tried to evoke exploded body parts, which car bombs had propelled and stuck onto street walls. I portrayed several victims and daily events. I used to watch these carefully as well as the traces man leaves behind.
Kadhim Nwir, Untitled, 2011. Courtesy of the artist.
What do you hope the Iraq Pavilion will achieve this year?
Life in Iraq is exceptional and therefore Iraqi art has to be exceptional. I hope the pavilion will give a flavour of the country: its beauty, its history, its people, but also the suffering. Our team of artists and the Ruya Foundation have worked really hard and I hope the show will be a success.
Why is it important for the Ruya Foundation to promote arts and culture within Iraq?
Iraqi art is not dead, as some people think. It lives with people on a daily basis. There have been many positive innovations recently, mostly thanks to the Ruya Foundation. Many artists started questioning the current status quo of the art scene, and whether it was time for a change. Also, if not for the work of Ruya, none of the Iraqi artists who came to Venice could have participated at the Biennale.
Kadhim Nwir, Numbers (detail). Courtesy of the artist.
