Maysaloun Faraj

Iraq

“Relationships are at the core (of my work) and a narrative that is often explored within. The relationships we have with one another as human beings: man & fellow man, man & woman, parent & child, us & the ‘other’. Relationships we have with nature and the environment; mother earth, her rivers (Dijla and Furat - Tigris and Euphrates), trees (the Iraqi date palm), air (contaminated with depleted uranium) and all. Relationships we have with the past (history), the present and the future. Relationships with our universe; the sun, moon, stars and skies. Relationships we have with ‘ourselves’; ‘our’ own kind ‘our’ language ‘our’ culture ‘our’ heritage ‘our’ faith and ‘our’ people. And relationships we have with the invisible; the ultimate creative force. Spirituality and faith have been for me a pillar of strength particularly in recent years where inconceivable atrocities are committed in the name of freedom and democracy and in the name of religion. It is the breaking down of these relationships that troubles me most as I find this a root cause for immense chaos and suffering, loss of innocence and beauty that could have been.” – Maysaloun Faraj

Of Iraqi parentage, Maysaloun Faraj was born in Hollywood, California, USA 1955. She achieved a BSc in Architecture from the College of Architectural Engineering, Baghdad University 1978 and pursued a career in the arts, painting and ceramics, thereafter. Since 1984 Faraj has contributed to noteworthy group exhibitions at local and international level, won numerous awards and held fifteen one-woman shows to date. Her artwork is in private collections world wide as well as important public collections including the British Museum (London, UK); National Museum for Women in the Arts (Washington, USA); Rotterdam Wereldmuseum (Netherlands); Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts (Amman) and important others.