Biography

Traversing a complex terrain of memory and loss, the paintings, drawings and sculptures of Walid Siti offer acute insight into a world that, for him, has been a place of constant change. The narrative of Siti’s experience, of a life lived far from but still deeply emotionally connected to the place of his birth, is one he shares with many exiles. Siti takes inspiration from the cultural heritage of his native land, crisscrossed with militarised borders and waves of migration.

Siti’s work has been shown in both solo and group exhibitions at Sharjah Biennial 13 (2017); Edge of Arabia, London (2015); Iran Pavilion, 56th Venice Biennale (2015); Triennial of Bruges (2015); ARTBAT FEST 6 Contemporary Art Festival, Almaty, Kazakhstan (2015); Museum of Islamic Art, Doha (2013); Asia Society, New York (2013); International Graphic Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia (2012); British Museum, London (2012); Iraq Pavilion, 54th Venice Biennale (2011); Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum, Berlin (2011); Rose Issa Projects, London (2011, 2014) and Leighton House Museum, London (2008), among others.

Siti is a recipient of the Sharjah Biennial Prize (2017), and his works are part of public collections at the Metropolitan Museum, New York; British Museum, London; Imperial War Museum, London; National Gallery of Amman, Jordan; World Bank, Washington, DC; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Iraq Memory Foundation; Art for American Embassy programme and Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah.

Siti graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts, Baghdad (1976) and earned a master’s degree at the Academy of Fine Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia (1982).

Born in 1954 in Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan, he currently lives and works in London.

This person was part of Sharjah Biennial 13 and a recipient of the Sharjah Biennial Prize (2017).

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