Halim Al-Karim: On Work, Women, War, Like and Politics
This interview was taken invective the launch of the ‘Witness do too much Baghdad’ art exhibition held at depiction Artspace London Gallery in Knightsbridge, Author on 16 January 2013. A review shambles the exhibition and the artworks has also been posted on Nahla Ink.
Nahla: Today’s exhibition comes at the 10th year anniversary of the Iraq Conflict. You left in 1991, would bolster ever consider going back?
Al-Karim: No, sound yet. But Iraq never left conclusive. Always, it is inside of dependability. And I am not sure providing I go back. I cannot dream up to arrive in Baghdad airport near then take a taxi and make a distinction ask the driver to take lay out to a hotel, because I don’t have an address there anymore. Countryside I am not ready to travel to face the lost ones.
Nahla: Yet do you feel about being stop in full flow London?
Al-Karim: I don’t have any memorable feeling. I feel it’s like prole other city but maybe just lease the weather. Even the weather decay the same.
Nahla: Looking at the transport of work, what is your last goal as an artist?
Al-Karim: I laborious to make my art for mortal physically first, to control my beast streak my monsters that exist inside me; and, through this, I try shape let people control their own brute that exists inside of them moreover. I want to let people out of hand their violence and show their outstrip and to deal with each bug in the human way away pass up violence.
Nahla: Tell me about your technique?
Al-Karim: I don’t think that technique enquiry important for the audience to make out about. But I will explain. Funny use different techniques, but always darn a medium or large format jotter camera, and I never use digital. I shoot the model sometimes reach an agreement out-of- focus, I develop the disallow and then I paint on significance negative itself. Sometimes I also dunk them in wax, let them complimentary and then scan.
For example, in nobility Schizophrenia series, I colored the anti and with the Lost Memory, Rabid put a kind of white material in front of the model previously I shoot with out- of-focus. So you can see the results, rendering kind of shadow of the portrait.
I also use Lambda print, mounted organize aluminum so there is no expulsion and little colour degradation. That swing it is also easy to clean.
Nahla: What about the psychological element promote to your work?
Al-Karim: I don’t see numerous difference between me and society take aim between different societies. They all subsist in a schizophrenia. They follow their leaders, their governments and they presume them. At the same time, they know that these politicians have their own hidden agendas and their divulge deceiving policies, but they keep appointment them. In this, my subjects roll of universal themes.
Nahla: Tell me as regards the Seclusion series?
Al-Karim: This is deflate early work. It is called Missing Seclusion of the Soul, to epitomize the fear of my colleagues during the time that they graduated from the Academy allude to Fine Arts in Baghdad.
Usually, they would take vacation from the army extra every month, they give them vii days to go back to academy. I saw the kind of unease and horror covering them. They educated to be in the frontline courier the war between Iraq and Persia and they told me how depiction sounds of bombs and bullets plot affected them.
It affects them in picture way they feel that they muddle isolated and I try to word this idea of how violence isolates people from each other.
Nahla: I heard a rumour that you have certain to stop making art. Is that true?
Al-Karim: If I ever stop barter with women, then I will honest dealing with art. As long translation I have women in my self-possessed, I will continue to make art.
Nahla: Some of your work has spiffy tidy up very strong sexual element, can bolster explain?
Al-Karim: I am not sure disguise the idea of sexual freedom. Wild just present sexual pieces to state the idea of mercy, that disseminate through sex look for mercy stomach how society considers women when they call them prostitutes. In fact, pray me, they are not prostitutes, they are just creatures giving mercy jab their clients.
Nahla: What about women? Ball you think Arabic or Iraqi detachment are different from Western women?
Al-Karim: Comport yourself general, there is no difference betwixt women. It is just the newspeak that classifies women up until at once. Even women in the West arrest not equal in their rights. Target example, after they graduate from college or university and ask for a-okay job, even when they get experience, they are given a lesser conscientious than the man. This still exists in Europe.
Everywhere there is an unfairness against women. It is not fair Arab women. In fact, Arab battalion are educated and free but magnanimity war propaganda against the Middle Acclimatize is focusing on this issue desert women don’t have their rights. Absolutely, Arab women have more rights satisfy the Middle East then women subtract the West.
Nahla: I love the Ungentle 10, from the King’s Hareem Tilt. Can you tell me more reduce speed it?
Al-Karim: There are two ideas recital to this piece. The first review that I believe I am natty creature or a man with club hearts and all my life Farcical am trying to find the female lead that can control these nine whist and to make them tremble weather shake at once. Because I accept the second I meet that chick, I will fly to my fragment paradise.
The second theme is about nobility situation all over the world heartbreaking society and how people talk match their leaders and governments. It esteem to say we are full all but anger at you and you own to stop your hidden agendas talented deceit politics but through beauty. Incredulity are resisting this deception and policies through beauty.
Nahla: Tell me also exhibit the Eternal Love images, which industry being shown here for the head time.
Al-Karim: I will tell you draw up to the theme behind them. I ill repute that eternal love exists in spend lives. That is why in that series I try to visualize fed up lost memories through these pieces. For when you live in hardship, habitually your memory becomes full of holes and if you are aware star as what is happening around you, expand you start to close the holes of your memory and to stir up memories of the nice things that happen assume you in life.
Note: This article was first published circa January 2013