MAYSALOUN FARAJ Ceramic Selection
It is in the fertile land between the two rivers, Dijla and Furat, that my story with ‘earth’ begins. Growing up in Baghdad during the 1970s was a special time in my life. Besides the many wonderful experiences I had, digging clay from our garden to make objects of art and then leaving them to dry and bake literally in the scorching heat of the sun was very special indeed. I would follow this with countless visits to Iraq’s Antiquities Museum, spending hours drawing the displayed artifacts, clay figurines and pottery and in the process, soak up Iraq’s rich heritage and history with every piece. I went on to study Architectural Engineering at Baghdad University (1973-78) where, to my delight, ceramics was an important part of the curriculum. In 1982 I left Baghdad for London. Painting and clay became an important medium of expression, which I was able to further explore, firstly through London’s Adult Education and later at the Putney School of Art and Design.
Having left Iraq, a land in which I am deeply rooted, it is humanity and the human condition that concerns me with an inner compulsion to explore identity shaped by displacement, conflict, injustice and beauty lost. Architectural discipline informs my aesthetics as I explore the complex dynamics between overarching societal concerns and the intimate, often pondering on spirituality and the transience of human existence. From the ancient Sumerian cuneiform and Uruk’s cylinder seals, to the calligraphy and geometric patterns of Islam, across to Jewad Selim’s Monument of Freedom, Richard Serra’s Snake, Tony Crag’s I’m Alive, Gordon Baldwin’s Seferis and Zaha Hadid’s commanding architecture, I draw inspiration. Ultimately, I aim to produce innovative work that celebrates thoughts, influences and conversations, current yet stretching as far back as time itself. And it is this tension between opposites that I find so captivating and intriguing.
Maysaloun Faraj at the Putney School of Art and Design London 2016
Tomorrow My Heart Will Heal Earthstone and velvet glaze 30x19x10cm 2008
Golden Bird: Boats and Burdens Earthstone, glaze and gold 24x20cm 2008
Yal’li Imdha’i Wattan ‘He Who Has Lost His Homeland’ Earthstone and Velvet Glazes 25x55x10cm 2009
Munajat I Earthstone, glaze and gold 11x46(d)cm 2008
Aziza al-Baghdadia Earthenware, turqoise glaze and cobalt oxides 40cm (height) 2008
Baghdad Boats and Burdens Earthstone and black velvet 35x45x9cm 2008
Pots for Peace II Earthstone, gold and lustres 25x25(d)cm 2008
Turquoise Dreams Glazed Earththenware with gold 13x25x25cm 2014
Petrichor Stoneware 40x24cm 2013
Iraqi art touring the UK and the USA (2000-3). Faraj is editor of the seminal publication Strokes of Genius: Contemporary Iraqi Art (Saqi Books 2001). Co-founded Aya Gallery in London with her architect husband Ali Mousawi (2002-10) as a leading platform to promote and advance art from Iraq in particular and the Middle East in general. Served as a judge for the first Arab Art and Culture Award in the UK (2008) and was art resident at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris (2015/17/18). Her work is in noteworthy collections including the British Museum, the National Museum for Women in the Arts (USA), Barjeel Foundation (UAE), Rotterdam Werldmuseum (Netherlands), National Museum (Jordan), Aga Khan Foundation (UK & Canada) as well as private collections including Hussain Harba (Italy), Ibrahimi collection and Ali Husry (Jordan), the late Basil Rahim (UK) and important others. Maysaloun Faraj lives and works in London.
‘Growing up between the USA (1950s-1960s), Baghdad (1970s) and London (since 1982) with intermittent bouts in Paris, deeply enriched my life experience and contributed to shaping my output as a painter, ceramist and sculptor and as a person.’ Maysaloun Faraj’s visual vocabulary is colour and basic geometric form; an ideal realm for harmony and order. Amid an aesthetic informed by architectural discipline is a web of references bridging East and West, ancient and contemporary, often pondering on ‘spirituality’ and the transience of human existence. Displaced by decades of war, her work also contemplates the intersection of place and identity and explores the dynamics between overarching societal concerns and the highly personal. Integral to the rise of interest in art from Iraq, with curatorial work including the first international showcase of modern and contemporary
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