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Dark Interludes

Print
2001 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Walid Siti is an Iraqi Kurd who was forced to leave his country and seek refuge in the UK. In this series of etchings he examines his personal response to the horrors of the Iran/Iraq war in 1986-1990, using poingmant visual metaphors and haunting symbols evoking the power and futility of this war.

From 'Dark Interludes' by Walid Siti:-

'This series originated in a cycle of drawings which I produced during the years from 1986 to 1990, the peak of the protracted Iran-Iraq war that culminated in the attack with chemical weapons on the Kurdish town of Halabja.

Although this work was done partly in the light of those events and as a response to them, it is not a documentation. My interest lay in an attempt to work through my thought processes and ideas and in registering my sense of despair, hopelessness and complete bewilderment as an artist faced with events of such magnitude.'

This set is an important commentary on a war which affected the lives of many, espcially those politcal refugees from this region who now live in the U.K.

These etchings were hand-printed by the artist from copper plates on Somerset white soft paper.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleDark Interludes (series title)
Materials and techniques
Etching on paper
Brief description
Plate VI from a boxed set of 13 etchings by Walid Siti entitled 'Dark Interludes', 2001
Physical description
Plate VI from a boxed set of 13 black and white etchings on the subject of the Iran-Iraq war 1986-1990. Ziggurats, flags, crescent moons and monumental heads are reoccurring symbols.
Credit line
Purchased through the Julie and Robert Breckman Print Fund
Subjects depicted
Summary
Walid Siti is an Iraqi Kurd who was forced to leave his country and seek refuge in the UK. In this series of etchings he examines his personal response to the horrors of the Iran/Iraq war in 1986-1990, using poingmant visual metaphors and haunting symbols evoking the power and futility of this war.

From 'Dark Interludes' by Walid Siti:-

'This series originated in a cycle of drawings which I produced during the years from 1986 to 1990, the peak of the protracted Iran-Iraq war that culminated in the attack with chemical weapons on the Kurdish town of Halabja.

Although this work was done partly in the light of those events and as a response to them, it is not a documentation. My interest lay in an attempt to work through my thought processes and ideas and in registering my sense of despair, hopelessness and complete bewilderment as an artist faced with events of such magnitude.'

This set is an important commentary on a war which affected the lives of many, espcially those politcal refugees from this region who now live in the U.K.

These etchings were hand-printed by the artist from copper plates on Somerset white soft paper.
Collection
Accession number
E.108-2002

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Record createdMay 21, 2003
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