Not Iraqi or English, just creative without borders

 

 

Hani Mazhar, an Iraqi artist exiled for his refusal to produce propaganda, now has British nationality and has brought to Japan a show journeying through centuries of his country's history, culture and faith.

 

 

Hani Mazhar sits in Spica Gallery in Tokyo's Minami-Aoyama, looking unlike any artist ever I met. He wears a double-breasted jacket with silver buttons, carefully pressed trousers, immaculately polished shoes. A perfectionist in more ways than one.

Some 20 of his paintings hang on the walls. On a table, two "books" in exquisite handmade boxes -- limited editions of hand-scribed writings by famed Iraqi sages and associated printed images.

As he explains softly, politely, one edition -- as loaned by promoter Astrid de los Rios, of Montealto International, who curated this East to East show and specializes in what she calls "nomadic artists" -- is based on writings by the 10th century Sufi master al-Hallaj. (The other nine copies are all in museums and private collections.)

The second edition (this time for sale) also consists of a set of prints -- illustrated interpretations of a selection of poems by the Sufi poet al-Niffari, written out in Arabic, but with an added translation in French.

Hani was born in Assamawa, south of Baghdad, an area associated with the Old Testament and the alleged site of Noah's Ark. He was a mystery to his family, drawing and painting his way to the Institute of Fine Art in the capital. Here he came under the influence of the painter Shakir Hasan al-Said.

"Al-Said was a leading member of the Baghdad Group of modern art, founded in 1951," Hani says. "He envisioned a renaissance -- creating a distinctive Iraqi movement that would reforge the links that separated artists from the age of al-Hallaj."

But in the 1970s, corruption set in. "Political leaders began applying pressure to artists to use their talents for propaganda purposes. Asked to devise and promote a new nationality for our country. I began asking myself, what is nationalism?" Since the time of the biblical flood, he says, Iraq has been a sad country, its people a sad people. "Sorrow has passed down through the generations for so long I believe it's now genetic. Even when we sing, we cry."

On the last day of 1978, forced to submit to political will, he left Baghdad. "I spent two years living with the marsh Arabs. Quiet and beautiful, yes, but like living in the 14th century." With no materials for painting, he spent most of his time reading. In the capital he had been a star, the top student. In the marshes, his creative wings were clipped.

He tried to reach Bahrain by cargo boat. He sought asylum in Morocco. Eventually he found refuge in Kuwait. The day before it was invaded by Iraq in 1991, he left for London. "Overnight I lost 15 years of my life and all my friends. Before they had asked, 'Tell us why you don't like Saddam Hussein.' Suddenly I was lumped with the invaders because of my nationality."

Two weeks after arriving in London he got a call from an Arab newspaper, and has worked for them ever since as a political commentator and cartoonist. Based on art exhibitions in Kuwait (with gold medals in 1983 and 1984 and a special award of appreciation in 1986) he soon had his first one-man show.

He shared his last exhibition in 2001 with Japanese artist Akiko Yamaguchi. It was just after Sept. 11, which threatened to paralyze everything. "But we went on, had a panel discussion. The ambassador of Paraguay (de los Rios' ancestry is Spanish-Paraguan) said it was a good moment for the show, which linked the Middle East with Europe, Asia and Latin America. It showed the world that life was not just about terrorism, but was in effect borderless."

Asked about Yamaguchi's contribution, Hani explains that when al-Hallaj was crucified in Baghdad for his Sufi faith, a student threw him a rose. "Akiko sculpted roses, attached them to real stems, then shaped the installation to resemble a teardrop climbing into the light."

Themes Hani has explored in the past include the sorrow of Iraqi women and the artist as a nomad, traveling around the world seeking inspiration and answers. This exhibition focuses on the words and poems of al-Hallaj and al-Niffari, with paintings and prints portraying the artist's intense personal journey through centuries of his country's history, culture and faith to the present day.

Canvases that appear graphically spare are in fact layered with figurative, geometric and abstracted images, and Arabic text, but hidden away. As in Sufism, the meaning is behind the thinking, behind what you see. There is a spiritual quality that gives his work depth and power. Images have their own special rhythm: the more you look, the more you see.

 

"I'm not trying to translate or explain Sufi teachings," he says. "Rather I'm inviting you to share my own personal vision. One must abandon the usual frame of reality. . . . As al-Hallaj wrote: 'I have seen my Lord with the eye of my heart and I said, "Who are you?" And he said: "You." ' "

The U.K. has a long tradition of incorporating immigrants into its mainstream. "I have British nationality now, yet was unable to attend my mother's funeral in Iraq, and I haven't seen my brother for 25 years. Does this qualify me for a silver medal in exile, I wonder?"

Hani -- whose name ironically means "happy" and "comfortable" does not really regard himself as an exile, or as a political refugee. "I'm human. What is nationality anyway? I hate politics. I'm neutral. As in a game of football, I wait to see who loses and support them."

The U.K. seems split down the middle, into those who want Prime Mister Tony Blair to back U.S. President George W. Bush in attacking Iraq to topple the current political regime, and those who are against causing a sad country even more pain. Hani's own feeling? Iraq needs to solve its own problems.

"When tanks roll in, their noise deadens everything. So really, I ask you, what is the meaning of war?"

 

Hani Mazhar at the Spica Museum, until 7 p.m. today, 4-6-5 Minami Aoyama, Tokyo (03-5414 2264). For more information, contact MonteAlto Int. (03) 3705-6043. E-mail: montealtouk@hotmail.com

 

The Japan Times: Sept. 7, 2002