01 Painting, MIDDLE EASTERN ART, Hayv Kahraman's The Kawliya Dance, with Footnotes , #60

Hayv Kahraman (Iraqi, b. 1981)

The Kawliya Dance, c. 2013

Oil on panel

47 2/3 x 96 3/8 in. (121 x 245cm.)

Private collection

Sold for GBP 118,750 in 2018

Dance of El Kawliya is a dance of improvisation. The movements are full of power, earthiness, passion and a zest for life. Iraqi Gypsy dancers have kept their traditional dances alive by maintaining their simple lifestyle and by not allowing modern elements from ballet or from any other modern dance direction to slip in. It belongs to the Shaabi Repertoires of the Iraqi Dance. More on The Kawliya Dance

Hayv Kahraman is an Iraqi artist born in 1981. At the age of 11, her family left Baghdad during the Gulf War and settled in Sweden for several years, where her status of refugee became a catalytic experience for her artistic practice. Having studied graphic design at the Accademia di Arte e Design di Firenze, Italy, Kahraman uses a variety of media including sculpture, drawing and painting to address difficult issues relative to gender inequalities, war and the migrant experience. Channeling refined aesthetics inspired from Islamic arts, Art Nouveau and Japanese paintings to confront the viewer with controversial scenes, the artist engages with the notion of femininity in Middle Eastern cultures. Her approach to gender roles and female identity encapsulates how women are persecuted in their own culture through systematic submission to the male gaze, physicality and politics. More on Hayv Kahraman

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