For 45 years, Dia Al-Azzawi has been a painter. His style may have changed, from the gritty detail of his ink drawings, through sculpture and prints to the bold abstract paintings of today, but one puzzle still dominates his work: how best to depict the Arab experience.
As an Iraqi-born artist, it would be difficult to escape political connotations being drawn from Azzawi’s work. At times, the artist has welcomed them. During the Gulf War, he created a collection given the title of Belad Al Sawad (‘Al sawad means black, but I use it as drama: it’s a land of drama,’ he explains). But you cannot tie the artist to just one region. He left Iraq back in 1976, at the beginning of the one-party system, and he’s not been back since the ’80s, he tells me. Now living in Britain, he thinks of himself as less an Iraqi artist, than simply an Arab one.
As an exile living in the West, Arabic identity is an integral part of Azzawi’s work. ‘As an artist, I would like to be international, but when it comes to references, for example, I am more likely to go for Arab influences: my most recent work is a collage of fabrics used by the Bedouin, which I collected and bought from the Gulf States.’
Finding ways to both truthfully represent his culture and present it to an outside audience dominates his art. ‘I’m trying from the beginning to do work with references to my culture, but at the same time to be accepted on international terms,’ he tells me. To elaborate, he tells the story of an American art critic who once criticised his paintings.
‘I had an exhibition in Washington, and a critic from the Post wrote about how I was using Arabic calligraphy as part of the painting. He said that because he is not familiar with Arabic, and he could not understand the value of that. But the most important part of the painting is not the sign, but the composition, the colours;
this is more important than just Arabic writing.’
An artist frustrated at being misunderstood, or misinterpreted, is hardly something new, but in a medium where language shouldn’t matter, it is interesting that Azzawi still finds himself at times lost in translation in the West. It is a struggle which his art thrives on: ‘I want to show that Arabs are not people who only have money, or petrol, or lavish cars, but brains,’ claims the artist.
He tells a similar story about a European exhibition of several artists using Arabic calligraphy. ‘The newspapers called them calligraphers,’ he says in disbelief. For the Arabian artist the act of painting is arguably one of translation. According to Azzawi: ‘In calligraphy, you have to follow the classical way. But with painting, in our culture, we don’t have a tradition of this. This is very much European. We are using the same sort of aspect painting, and try to use what is going on in Europe, but in a way that we can get something that is related to our own culture.’
His bold canvases, sizzling with colour, boast a fierce Arab sensibility, but this is not enough, he has learned, the artist must explain his work, says Azzawi. ‘You need to explain to people what is there and to talk about it in order to become more convincing to them. You can’t expect people to understand a painting without a little bit of knowledge.’
Knowledge is important to Azzawi. The role of the artist is that of a teacher; he believes, ‘The role of the artist is to create ways to better understand our surroundings, our civilisation and what’s going on in the world.’ For this, art needs to take a more prominent place in everyday society, he says, ‘We have to work very hard in a way to make paintings part of our surroundings.’ He cites Dubai airport as an example, where he was invited to display his work at the opening of a new British Airway line.
As a part of the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival, Dia Al-Azzawi will get his wish, as he takes centre stage at the capital’s biggest arts festival. If people are willing to hear it, he has a fascinating story to tell and something to teach. You can let the paintings speak for themselves, or simply listen.
Dia Al-Azzawi Exhibition and workshops takes place at the Ghaf Gallery from March 21-April 4
