Echoes and Impressions: In Conversation with Nada Shabout

Q. Many artworks and documents were lost or stolen after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. How did you choose to display or represent these "missing" pieces in What Lingers in the Artist Mind?

Nada Shabout: Loss and destruction is certainly part of the story of contemporary Iraq and has impacted the country’s art institutions, history and production. Many works have disappeared, as have many archives. It is, thus, extremely important to me that these absences are present in the exhibition. Through my ongoing research, I was able to find some images of missing works that we printed as archival material to include in the exhibition. Their honest display as lost work represented through digital copies is an attempt to show the reality of the situation. In general, this exhibition is about telling this story through research as well as works of art. Grouping the artists who exhibited in the inaugural exhibition of the Baghdad Modern Art Group in 1951, brought those artists together again in one space. But unfortunately, not always possible through finding the exact works that were in that exhibition.

Q. How does the exhibition show the changing relationship and different art styles of Jewad Selim and Shakir Hassan Al Said, the two founding members of the Baghdad Modern Art Group?

Shabout: All Manner of Experiments—the research of which What Lingers in the Artist Mind is built on—follows the career trajectories of both pivotal artists, not only as co-founders of the Baghdad Modern Art Group but as seminal and most influential Iraqi artists. The exhibition touches on their relationship as teacher and student, colleagues and co-founders. Shakir Hassan Al Said has left many journals that include many entries about his relationship with Jewad Selim. While Selim died young leaving a legacy larger than his life, Al Said lived longer and impacted several generations of artists, most profoundly that of the 1980s.

Thus, this exhibition traces his trajectory through the shifts in his aesthetics manifesting in an evolving understanding of istilham as a dynamic performative act of invocation and the concept of making art. Works from his period of istilham al-harf (invoking the letter), istilham al-jidar (invoking the wall), experiments in al-Bud al-Wahid (the One Dimension) and Contemplative Manifesto are reflected in the selection of the exhibition.

Q. Besides the two giants of Iraqi art, Selim and Al Said, how does the exhibition highlight other artists and architects who joined the group during its first ten years?

Shabout: The exhibition further maps the membership of the group and their annual exhibitions. One of the galleries in Mathaf includes work by the original members that were shown in the inaugural exhibition in 1951, marking a rare occasion of bringing them back together after several decades. Through paintings, sculptures, and archival material, the story of all impacted by the group as members or friends is told. Membership was fluid. Artists could exhibit with the group without necessarily joining the group. Architects were particularly supportive of the group. Many of the work in this exhibition come from collections originally owned by those architects. The legacy of the group’s ideals and aesthetics is thus apparent in different contexts.

Q. How do you show the tension between the Baghdad Modern Art Group and younger groups (like the New Vision Group) who later challenged their ideas?

Shabout: The story I am telling in this exhibition also speaks of the socio-political changes and their effect on the art in Iraq. The 1950s were turbulent years with economic pressures and political unrest. They were, however, years of hope leading to the 1958 revolution and better expectations. The 1960s then came with many disappointments with the Ba’ath coup and the 1967 Naksa that demoralised Arabs, Iraqi artists included.

Thus, the groups formed in the 1960s had already lost that moment of belonging to a larger international community of equals. The language of the New Vision’s manifesto specifically expresses these sentiments. It calls for defiance and rejection. For a wider understanding of turath (tradition) to encompass the Arab’s heritage beyond Iraq. It articulates the new Arab nationalism rhetoric of the age. While yes, it shows tension and critique of the Baghdad Modern Art Group, it does not deny its legacy and equally engages with it. The New Vision Group were aware of the importance of the Baghdad Group and widened the reach of istilham.

Q. Many Iraqi artists from the "Eighties Generation" who carry on these teachings now live outside Iraq. How does the exhibition tell the story of this scattered, global community?

Shabout: It is unfortunate that all living artists presented in the exhibition now live in diaspora. It is also equally sad that works presented in the previous two iterations of All Manner of Experiments, with the exception of perhaps three works, came from collections outside of Iraq.

This exhibition equally speaks of the current situation of Iraqi art and artists. What we see though is that at moments of despair, the Baghdad Modern Art Group, their teachings and the aesthetic of istilham, seem to be the instigator of renewal, as Jewad Selim himself had argued in 1951. For the 80s generation, the members of the Baghdad Group were their teachers. But for the generations that followed, the group’s legacy is what they have access to through research. Their legacy becomes the way to bridge the distance and reacquaint with Iraq beyond the memories they only have access to through their parents.

Q. The group mixed ancient Iraqi history with modern art. How could the exhibition challenge the way the Western world views the history of modern art?

Shabout: The exhibition interrogates modernism as a European development. It delegates Iraqi modernists’ understanding of the roots in the shift of European representation that led to what is named modern art. In simple terms, Iraqi modernists realised that European modernists were looking at their (Fertile Cresent and Land between Two Rivers) heritage. The heritage they (Iraqi modernists) had only just gained access to. But also seeing the work of Yahya al-Wasiti the 13th century painter of Maqammat al-Hariri. These resources explained to them the modern shift. And they were the same resources they were drawing from.

They, however, were able to draw more meaningful connections that would be able to represent their realities. And yes, while they learned so-called modern styles while studying in Europe, they understood how they were formulated. I thus would not say that they mixed ancient Iraqi history with modern art, which is the mainstream narrative that continues to carry inequality and Orientalist rhetoric...they forged their own modern aesthetics in the process.

Q. This is the third reimagining of this exhibition, but the first using Mathaf’s collection. What new stories or discoveries were you able to share because of Mathaf's artwork?

Shabout: In the two previous iterations, the works were loans from major collections in the region like the Barjeel Art Foundation, the Dalloul Art Foundation, the Ibrahimi Collection, the Farjam Foundation, Taymour Hassan’s collection, Azzawi Collection as well as from artists. In the Bard iteration, we had a few works from Mathaf as well. In this third reimagining, all the works, except for one, come from the Mathaf collection.

Mathaf's remains the strongest collection of Iraqi modern art in the world. Consequently, the representation of both Selim and Al Said’s aesthetic development and transformation will allow for a more in-depth analysis and nuance. Adding the voices of other artists and art groups from the 1960s and 70s will further speak of the group’s legacy whether as a continuation or critique. Equally, it allows us to see the unfolding of istilham as it develops through until today. And most importantly, we are able to see more beautiful works of art by Iraqi artists. Thus, the stories expand and allow me to segue into different relevant chapters of the history of Iraqi modernism.

What Lingers in the Artist Mind: Experiments and Legacies of the Baghdad Modern Art Group is open to visitors at Mathaf until February 2027. Plan your visit today.