Sadik Alfraji: I Do Not Feel That I Am Free
‘I do not paint out of luxury, and do not seek beauty; I paint as an attempt to reason with the world and myself.’ - Sadik Alfraji. Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce the solo exhibition, I Do Not Feel That I Am Free, by Iraqi artist Sadik Alfraji from 14 March - 27 April 2013. The second exhibition at the newly inaugurated Ayyam Gallery London, this show marks the first time Alfraji has exhibited in the United Kingdom and will feature new works including paintings, drawings and the video installation Godot to Come Yesterday (2013). Alfraji describes his work as “dealing with the problem of existence”. He confronts the viewer with solitary figures depicted in profile and set against stark backgrounds. These simple forms possess a quiet sadness and sense of isolation; through them, he is able to undergo a cathartic process and address his own displacement from his native Iraq. Alfraji admits that the changing face of his homeland has informed his practice and continues to do so. Since the American invasion in 2003, both his and global perceptions and beliefs have changed irreparably. This was a conflict that for much of the world was experienced through a television screen with many of the people directly involved becoming anonymous shadows, reduced to a series of statistics of casualties and conflict. At the core of his work, Alfraji is intrigued by the idea that as humans we are endlessly waiting for something meaningless and futile.
