Ameila Smith Articles - Art and culture

28/05/15

Creating art out of Iraq's darkness

Alfraji's first recollection of black shapes is from his childhood in Iraq when the family would commemorate the Day of Ashura and both men and women would dress in black to mourn the death of Imam Hussein. He recalls his mother boiling pigment in water to dye clothes black before hanging them on the washing line. When the sun would rise, then fall, the light changed and the shadour (a black cloak for women) would look like a figure with a head and two arms. [ read more ]

08/05/15

A window onto Israeli settlers’ gardens

In ancient Mesopotamia kings would return from conquests with plants. They were trophies in the same way treasure was and there was a certain status attached to procuring them: "A garden represents wealth to acquire and buy the plants; wealth to have people to look after them and wealth of water especially in that region. They're a status symbol and a symbol of power," British artist Corinne Silva tells me. [ read more ]

03/02/15

Iran’s most celebrated visual artist, Parviz Tanavoli, speaks to MEMO about his work

As a young boy Parviv Tanavoli's favourite toy was the simple lock. As there were no ready-made toys like those of today he would take them apart, fix them and make keys for the ones that didn't work. "I was the locksmith of the neighbourhood because all the locks in those days had one key and they were handmade. There weren't that many machine-made locks. If there were they were very expensive," he tells me. [ read more ]