One of the highlights of the 55th Venice Biennale has been relocated to London for the latest South London Gallery exhibition, Welcome To Iraq.
Curated by Ikon Gallery director Jonathan Watkins, the show was first presented at Ca’ Dandolo, Venice and features the work of 11 Iraq-based artists. Commissioned by the Ruya Foundation for Contemporary Culture in Iraq (RUYA), the work ranges from the satirical political cartoons of Abdul Raheem Yassir to the cardboard installations of WAMI – a partnership between artists Yassen Wami and Hashim Taeeh.
Also featured in the show, which fills the main and first floor exhibition spaces at South London Gallery, is the acclaimed series of photographs Saddam Is Here by Jamal Penjweny, who currently has a solo show at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham. Film, sculpture and painting also feature in the exhibition.
Part of the show’s success in Venice stemmed from the way that it sensitively placed in a relaxed domestic setting work that, with humour and humanity, tackled the harsh realities of life in Iraq. While South London Gallery can’t quite replicate an historic yet homely Venetian apartment near the Grand Canal, the gallery is doing its best to capture the salon atmosphere of the original show. As in Venice, visitors to the exhibition will be invited to sit down and take a glass of Iraqi tea; there will also be an extensive selection of books and comics on life in Iraq to browse, and comfy seats to sit on while reading.
Speaking to a-n in December, Watkins said: “It was such a challenge to make an exhibition out of work that was so inaccessible, to reach into a culture that’s been so isolated for such a long time, and to create something that made sense and was coherent – with very little art infrastructure in Iraq to support me.”
Watkins will be on hand to open the exhibition tomorrow (Friday 14 March), and will be giving a free public talk about Welcome To Iraq on Wednesday 19 March at South London Gallery.
Welcome To Iraq runs from 15 March – 1 June at South London Gallery. www.southlondongallery.org
More on a-n.co.uk:
Iraq in Venice: “This really is opening up the Iraqi art world” – S Mark Gubb talks to Jonathan Watkins as the Iraq Pavilion opens at the 2013 Venice Biennale
2013 – How was it for you? #9: Jonathan Watkins – The Welcome to Iraq curator and director of Ikon Gallery looks back on a challenging year
