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Araz Talib (Iraq, 1969-2016) The Tower of Babel image 1

Araz Talib (Iraq, 1969-2016) The Tower of Babel image 2

Araz Talib (Iraq, 1969-2016) The Tower of Babel image 3

Araz Talib (Iraq, 1969-2016) The Tower of Babel image 4

Works from the AbdulMagid Breish Collection

Lot 27

Araz Talib
(Iraq, 1969-2016)
The Tower of Babel

Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art

13 November 2024, 14:00 GMT

London, New Bond Street

£12,000 - £18,000

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Araz Talib (Iraq, 1969-2016)

The Tower of Babel
oil on canvas
signed "Araz Talib" and dated "2015" (lower right), further signed and dated on the verso, executed in 2015
111 x 180cm (43 11/16 x 70 7/8in).

Footnotes

Provenance:
Property from the collection of AbdulMagid Breish, London

Published:
Louisa Macmillan, Mysa Kafil-Hussain et others, In Vested Interests: from Passion to Patronage, The AbdulMagid Breish Collection of Arab Art, Skira, Milan, 2020

Inspired by sixteenth-century depictions of Babylon's famed ziggurat by artists such as Pieter Bruegel the Elder and his contemporary, Lucas van Valckenborch, Kurdish artist Araz Talib's surrealist take on the Tower of Babel is laden with the artist's own personal impressions. Reclaiming stories of the ancient structure, he applies cultural and political elements from the modern era as a tragic social commentary on the deteriorating political and humanitarian situation in Iraq. Most notable of these are the dying palm trees, which are most likely connected to stories of the uprooting of millions of palms by Saddam Hussein, Iraq's former president. The famous Lion of Babylon statue, constructed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BCE) and discovered in the nineteenth century, after which it became a symbol of pride to many generations of Iraqis, is seen in the lower left of the painting. Sitting next to the dying trees on the arid desert landscape, however, the lion looks small, lonely and helpless.
-Mysa Kafil-Hussain

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- Modern & Contemporary Middle Eastern Art