The Stories of Mosul
The creation and celebration of art, ideas, and diversity are direct acts of resistance against ISIS and their warped doctrine that prohibited creative expression
Al-Ghad Radio
Part of the Return to Mosul Exhibition
The Last Christ (2019) by Mohammed Al-KinaniAl-Ghad Radio
A rough start
It was in the city of Mosul that former ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the Caliphate in 2014. The distortion of religious ideology by ISIS formed the basis of the extremist group’s active promotion of racism and ethno-sectarianism in Mosul.
Here, the head of Christ looks over Daesh's defilement of ideology, toward the end of their racist tyranny and the rebirth of the city.
Unnatural Inhumanity (2019) by Saad NajimAl-Ghad Radio
Mosul has historically been an ethnically diverse city where Arabs, Assyrians, Kurds, Turkmen, Shabaks, Yazidis, Armenians, and Mandeans lived.
ISIS sought to separate and isolate Maslawis with this divisive doctrine; the group tried to take away the support network of community and togetherness.
The muted colours and misshapen figure symbolise the unnatural inhumanity of the occupation of Mosul by ISIS affected the city, its people, its spirit, and soul.
Daesh Destruction of Mosul (2019) by Mohammed BahrAl-Ghad Radio
The destructive nature of ISIS targeted the city itself
The figure shrouded in darks depicts how Mosul was decimated, and its residents subjected to a life of seemingly unending darkness and cruelty.
Trauma (2019) by Hawkar RiskinAl-Ghad Radio
The skeletal figure symbolises how the ISIS regime of brutality and violence devastated multiple generations of Maslawi residents. Their victims continue to struggle with the ongoing physical and mental scars and the consequences of identity-based war.
Displacement (2019) by Omar Raad Al-Ra'ashAl-Ghad Radio
Displacement
ISIS instigated the displacement of over half a million people from and within Nineveh. The group implemented a systematic campaign to empty the region of religious and ethnic diversity.
The crowds symbolise how much of the population faced targeted killings, abductions, and persecution, and had only one option: to escape and leave their homes and possessions behind.
This work is brought to you by Al-Ghad Radio, in partnership with Nineveh Fine Artists Association.
