° 1939

Born in Bagdad (Iraq).

The Iraqi artist Dia Al Azzawi (b. 1939) graduated in archeology from the University of Baghdad in 1962, something that has left a visible trace in his artistic oeuvre by way of frequent references to Arabic folklore and history. These themes are handled by the artist in paintings, sculptures and prints, often of monumental scale. Fundamentally he attempts, through the representation of suffering, to demonstrate the common, binding factors that exist between different cultures and peoples. The most iconic example of this is found in the work Sabra and Shatila (1982-1985), the artist's comment on the slaughter of Palestinian refugees by Phalangist militias during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.