Weeping Palms: Stolen Childhoods

Firyal Weeping Palms Stolen Childhoods 22x17cm 2004

Weeping Palms Stolen Childhoods is a series of paintings  which was sparked off with the war on Iraq and made  precisely one year after in 2004.  At the beginning I painted small works using water colour on paper.  With the problems compounding and Iraq escalating into further violence, chaos and disorder, I turned to larger works using oil on canvas.  This formed the core of a collection I entitled Kites and Shattered Dreams, all of which is now on show at ayagallery, London.

Firdaws Weeping Palms Stolen Childhoods 22x17cm 2004 Trauma and tragedy permeates life back home at its core. Nothing has been spared. Even our precious Date Palms suffer. Despite them being worn and withered, they remain resilient, tall, proud and ever so graceful. I have given each painting in this series the name of an Iraqi woman, in tribute to her ongoing struggle and enormous sacrifice. This  body of work remains in progress as I desperately try to relay their stories and capture that innocence and beauty forever lost.

Um Hussain Weeping Palms Stolen Childhoods 17x14cm 2004

Sabeeha Weeping Palms Stolen Childhoods 16x21cm 2004

Zahra Weeping Palms Stolen Childhoods 26x21 cm 2004

Amal Weeping Palms Stolen Childhoods 17x29cm 2004

Um Amer  Weeping Palms Stolen Childhoods 17x29cm 2004