Where have all the colours gone?: Land of Darkness in the work of Dia al-Azzawi

Abstract

This article is an overview of the evolution of the ongoing series Land of Darkness by Dia al-Azzawi (born in Baghdad in 1939), which is marked by a lack of colour unusual to Azzawi’s work. This article argues that, although he initially chose the term ‘darkness’ as an ironic reinterpretation of a historic name for Iraq for the title of a single artwork about a specific tragedy, Azzawi was compelled to return to it time and again as he witnessed the ongoing deterioration of his homeland from afar. It also examines how and why, for nearly three decades after the Gulf War of 1991, Azzawi has constantly turned his focus towards Iraq, criticizing its enemies and defending its future, and continuing to make works about the plight of the Land of Darkness.