Paradoxism II

What draws attention in Mahmoud Obaidi’s work are the changes in his areas of interest. Over recent years, he has been studying and transforming his approach. While he addresses different topics and employs a wide array of techniques, he seeks to rebel against himself so he can adapt to his concerns and deep uncertainty regarding the usefulness of developing his style and figuring out the forms that characterise his uniqueness. As the intended goal is to research and question ideas the correlation between daily events and the relevant personal history necessitates exploring that indirect relationship This approach turns each event into a symbol in the collective memory of the society, an event that assumes different rules according to each era

The interlinked topics presented by Obaidi constitute a theme that urgently foregrounds political debate, addressing the notion of being committed to a cause, away from different interpretations and perceptions, that makes him bear the burden of such a position. This is a kind of reading between the lines, about the place of distant memories and the remnants of his own Baghdad, of its aroma, of its sadness in response to transgressions committed by thugs and ignorant people still adopting outdated principles of tribes of armed mercenaries, and of Iraq, a victim of explosions, trapped between the obsession of suicidal extremists and the horrifying pride of disavowing one’s own homeland.

He tells me between now and then I want to go back
Yet, where to?
To a space called homeland
to morning bread loaves near the Tigris.

***********

However, I forgot to tell him
that closed spaces would never make a homeland
After all these years, haven’t you been surprised
by this fib between now and then?

Obaidi is keen to link the value of the artwork to its perceived depth of expression and the credibility of his artistic stance. Such realism in the tools used is one of his ways to analyse his position. Building on this, a link can be established between the aesthetic components and his politics, thus documenting the connection with the community to which he belongs, and
at the same time reaching the impossible compromise with any controversies raised by the interpretations of the intellectual apologists for the occupation .

Some might wonder at the straightforwardness in expressing his discontent towards the tangible and social destruction that has befallen his country in the name of democracy. The impudence of those perverted people promoting such allegations can’t be forgotten. Obaidi swears loudly through his sculptural compositions that need not much interpretation, and tries at the same time to condemn those cheerleaders for the occupation among Iraqi and Arab intellectuals. Through what they see of various criminal acts, he makes them feel ashamed since they were arrogantly used by powers hostile to the aspirations of their own societies

Discrepancies

Each of his different artworks has its own message and creates a certain visual ambience through which all the works revive the collective memory in terms of understanding what happened and its devastating consequences.

The fighter jet carries the remnants of civilization, emphasising the difference between the tools of destruction and cultural symbols Also emphasised is the discrepancy between the statue of Saddam and Islamic heritage, with the vehicle full of what was looted from the museums and it allusion to what was called ‘hawasim’ after the first days of the occupation.

He asked me: listen to the sound of destruction
and to what is there in the pants of the thieves
Yet, this time
I’ll migrate to a land that guarantees sleep to me,
that erases the memories of the siege
And for the homeland, I will held a great funeral.

*****

I forgot to tell him, however:
Why are you in a hurry?
Not a single cloud has not been overwhelmed by the blueness of the sky.

Obaidi lets the materiality of objects occupy the interior space, elevating it as an artistic value capable of engaging discussion. It is a presence that can’t be denied and a path that leads the viewer to meditate on the values of chaos left behind by the occupiers, ever reminding you of their ugly faces of pain spread everywhere, since loss is exactly like treason, in the sense that it might not be subdivided.

Diaa Azzawi