Close-up of the floor map and the canvas that gives the exhibition its name, “False Witnesses,” flanked by two abstract stainless-steel sculptures. (Credit: Saleh Barakat Gallery.)
It took only five massive canvases and a tapestry for Dia al-Azzawi to transform the vast hall of the Saleh Barakat Gallery in Beirut. With impressive dimensions (up to 270x800 cm and 200x900 cm), these polyptych frescoes, created between 2020 and 2023, are gathered under the title "False Witnesses." They embody the visual power and striking aesthetics of an Iraqi artist who has never hidden the influence of Picasso, even evoking something of “Guernica.” But with this pictorial outcry, Azzawi denounces all forms of oppression endured by the peoples of the Middle East.Deeply affected by the failed Lebanese uprising of October 2019 and the bloody repression of Iraqi youth, Azzawi centers this exhibition on that common wound. He was determined to anchor it in Beirut, both by its theme and by choosing Saleh Barakat's space,...
It took only five massive canvases and a tapestry for Dia al-Azzawi to transform the vast hall of the Saleh Barakat Gallery in Beirut. With impressive dimensions (up to 270x800 cm and 200x900 cm), these polyptych frescoes, created between 2020 and 2023, are gathered under the title "False Witnesses." They embody the visual power and striking aesthetics of an Iraqi artist who has never hidden the influence of Picasso, even evoking something of “Guernica.” But with this pictorial outcry, Azzawi denounces all forms of oppression endured by the peoples of the Middle East.Deeply affected by the failed Lebanese uprising of October 2019 and the bloody repression of Iraqi youth, Azzawi centers this exhibition on that common wound. He was determined to anchor it in Beirut, both by its theme and by choosing Saleh Barakat's...