Iraq 2019

Title: “Fatherland”
Curators: Tamara Chalabi and Paolo Colombo
Commissioner: Ruya Foundation
Artist: Serwan Baran

Serwan Baran’s solo exhibition for the Pavilion of Iraq at Biennale Arte 2019 investigates the ways in which the ideal of Fatherland has been used in his country to justify the horrors of war. After being conscripted during the conflicts of the 1980s and 1990s, his work became more expressionist, representing elements from his own military experience, deconstructed in grotesque and abstract figurations.

The exhibition “Fatherland” includes large-scale and site-specific works, evoking the general atmosphere of a war zone: the monumental painting “The Last Meal” represents ranks of soldiers killed on their last supper. The acrylic painting is enriched by collage sections, including objects from Iraqi military uniforms. Another large-scale sculpture – “The Last General” – represents the figure of a general, half decayed and half normal, dressed with uniform and medals.