This is self portrait, and this is my story. I have drawn and painted a story on this chair that is symbolic of the road I have traveled to the United States, and the memories I carry with me about my home in Iraq. This has been a challenging road. I have been living here in America for four year now, but I have not forgotten where I came from.
This painting represents me around age 12 in Iraq. The black "figure" represents me, as I feed the birds and watch them fly away. Every afternoon I would feed the birds, often white and brown birds, on top of the roof at my house. The flight of the birds represents freedom and peace.
The years that have passed are represented by the birds. It has been seven years since I left Iraq. There are white and black birds. The black represent the bad people and the difficult years. The white birds represent the good people in my life along with the good years that I have experienced. By travelling from Iraq, Egypt and into the United Stated I have learned that no matter where I go there will always be good and bad in people.
This is the original chair and the seat of that chair was a worn out blue color before I worked on it. The bird on the seat of the chair is "me" and the black lines represent a broken cage. Now the bird is free, just like I am now free. l didn't die in the war in my country; I made it to here safe and I started a new life. Now I can paint freely, I can share it with anyone and I don't have to be afraid anymore.
The chair legs all have sad faces because the last image in my head of the citizens of Iraq were faces full of fear and sadness. I tried to show those sad faces down the legs of the chair. You can see that in this picture shows one leg completed and another leg is still a work in progress. The faces that I remember are from around the years of 2004 through 2006. Many of the Iraqi citizens had lost family members, close friends, and they lost loved ones to kidnappers. In some cases families lost their homes to fires or militia members that would move into people's homes and leave those family members homeless. I recall one such militia, they were known as the Mahdi Army. These men usually have beards and mustaches, which are common so they could hide their faces and true identities. They also dressed in all black (black shirts and pants) and they wear black hats. When I remember the Mahdi Army I think of men who always looked angry and would drive fear into people.
As a young man I did not have electricity all of the time, it would only come on for a few hours a day. We never really knew exactly what time the electricity would be available and the days and nights were always very hot and dry. Using an air conditioner was not an option; even for the wealthiest of people. I recall sleeping on colorful mats on the roof of my home as it was cooler outside than it was inside. I have memories of these very brightly colored mats and I made the legs that attach to the back of the chair colorful like the mats from my childhood memories.
This chair is my story and it reflects my experiences while living in Iraq from birth until I was around 9 or 10 years old. The chair tells the story of my memories of the war and my survival! These experiences are what kick started my love for art and my passion for painting. The legs that attach to the back of the chair tell another story. As you can see, the chair is not done. I still have to finish the last three legs and add the faces. The seat of the chair is now done, even though you can't see that in this picture. This process, the work I did painting the chair, helped me to remember memories that were buried so deep I didn't know they were there until they came out in my chair.
This chair is my story and it reflects my experiences while living in Iraq from birth until I was around 9 or 10 years old. The chair tells the story of my memories of the war and my survival! These experiences are what kick started my love for art and my passion for painting. The legs that attach to the back of the chair tell another story. As you can see, the chair is not done. I still have to finish the last three legs and add the faces. The seat of the chair is now done, even though you can't see that in this picture. This process, the work I did painting the chair, helped me to remember memories that were buried so deep I didn't know they were there until they came out in my chair.