Through the Lens: Latif Al Ani’s Visions of Ancient Iraq

ISAW exhibitions is excited to announce our upcoming Fall exhibition, Through the Lens: Latif Al Ani’s Visions of Ancient Iraq, opening November 8, 2023. Through the Lens explores the cultural and political exploitation of Iraq’s history through the eyes of nineteenth century archaeologists, twentieth century photographers, and contemporary artists.

Opening November 8th, admission to the exhibition is free and open to the public Wednesday - Sunday. Free guided tours are offered Fridays at 6pm and Saturdays at 11am.

Featuring fifty evocative photographs by Latif Al Ani (1932–2021), a pioneer of Iraqi photography, the exhibition invites viewers to follow his unique perspective of Iraq’s golden age of modernism (1958–1980), which was driven by the oil industry. Al Ani’s photographs include some of the first aerial perspectives of both modern and ancient cities in Iraq, and document European visitors’ fascination with the monuments of Mesopotamia. His gaze reveals the appropriation and reimagining of Iraq’s past through photographs of sites excavated and interpreted by Western archaeologists in the 1850s, which can be seen in the lithographs and engravings documenting the early British excavations of Nineveh and Nimrud featured in this exhibition.

Al Ani’s photographs also provide a lens into the present through the subsequent responses to Iraq’s history and more recent events, which are spotlighted in the exhibition via the personal stories of five contemporary Iraqi artists—Adel Abidin, Nadine Hattom, Hanaa Malallah, Mahmoud Obaidi, and Walid Siti. Their firsthand experiences are shared through multi-media artworks, some of which were specially commissioned for the exhibition or presented in novel installations. Ultimately, Through the Lens reflects on the themes of colonialism, reclamation, memory, loss, and heritage, to reveal the complex reality of communal identity—one that is the sum of all the filters through which the past is shared. 

Latif Al Ani. Ctesiphon, ruins of the Tāq Kasrā (Arch of Ctesiphon) with musician playing the rebab. 1964. Gelatin silver negative on cellulose acetate film. H: 30.47 cm; W: 30.47 cm. AIF: 0190an00560.  Courtesy of the Arab Image Foundation, Beirut ©

Walid Siti. Tower Series. 2020. Crayon and acrylic on paper, H: 210 cm; W: 142 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

Through the Lens is curated by Pedro Azara, professor of aesthetics at the Barcelona School of Architecture. The exhibition is accompanied by a scholarly, fully illustrated catalogue featuring essays by five international specialist contributors and five personal essays by the contemporary artists, who provide intellectual context for their works. An online exhibition also complements the gallery experience through expanded stories of the featured artists, architects, and photographers. 

This exhibition and its accompanying catalogue were made possible by generous support from the Violet Jabara Charitable Trust and the Leon Levy Foundation. Additional funding was provided by Joyce F. Menschel and Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Tucker.

Exhibition Banner Image: Latif Al Ani. Ctesiphon, ruins of the Tāq Kasrā (Arch of Ctesiphon) with musician playing the rebab. 1964. Gelatin silver negative on cellulose acetate film. H: 30.47 cm; W: 30.47 cm. AIF: 0190an00560. Courtesy of the Arab Image Foundation, Beirut ©