Gulf       

This series aims to capture the different states of the human body during and after the turbulent period of geopolitical and war turmoil that marked the Gulf War. These illustrations blend reality and fiction, intertwining elements of anthropomorphism and machinery as integral body parts, addressing the profound impacts of the conflict on human beings and our bodies. As an illustrator at Baghdad’s longest-running liberal magazine in 1980, I bore witness to the unfolding events, experiencing firsthand the significance of the evidence and its role in preserving forgotten cultural memories. I channeled these experiences into a series that depicted the daily lives of individuals amidst the social and political pressures of the war, some including illustrations of, now-lost, companions in the trenches during the war. Small evidentiary moments became the foundation of a large-scale paper series, rendered in black and white, offering testimony to the various states of the human body during times of conflict. I aim to reveal the lingering effects of ongoing events on our bodies and the environment, shedding light on the enduring consequences of history and the present. Through these artworks, an archive of diverse histories emerges, retelling stories and defining the political and social issues that defined that era.

Ink on paper, a variety of dimensions, some of them created in the Gulf War I frontline between 1982-and 1991   
Published illustrations, magazines, and newspapers in Baghdad