statement:

Nahraine Hadi (b. 2002) is a London born Iraqi-British artist, raised between England and the Middle East. This contrast in culture informs her study of ancient Iraqi history and its importance in the modern western world she resides in.    

Her practice questions the importance of Iraqi history in a contemporary society. Where events were documented in enduring materials only to be later found destroyed and unintelligible. She represents this through the removal of paint from laboured paintings, echoing the loss of information in our humanity's timeline. The loss of Iraqi history over time becomes more distressing to Hadi when it is preventable. Events such as the infamous Baghdad Museum lootings and rebel attacks on archaeological sites are direct consequences of recent conflicts, with history becoming a target. Hadi struggles with the fact that they become targets when secured in museums. She questions preservation of her own heritage, asking why history is arguably safer when hidden and unprotected. 

The clay slabs suggested in her work have a dual representation. On one hand, they evoke archaeological excavation sites, where fragments of the past are unearthed. On the other, they resemble the remains of demolished structures, left behind by conflict and scattered like relics. Suggesting that the destruction from ongoing conflicts may one day be rediscovered as artefacts of resilience. The ceramic vessels in Hadi’s paintings are whole and sometimes tarnished. They act as a symbol of resilience balancing amongst the layered rubble, A silent defence against erasure. They are almost viewed as portraits of people, evidence of something human within the "barren" representation of her paintings. This is supported by the repetitive use of crimson tearing through the dull, monochromatic forms. It’s the only apparent burst of tone, evoking the violence of loss.  

Viewers cannot understand exactly what Hadi speaks through her paintings. The viewer are to push further to make sense of them, while being forced to fill the uncertainty with personal narratives. They can never be fully comprehended as the histories are incompletely documented.

Upcoming Exhibitions:

Summix. Post-Graduate Show
Centre Space, Bristol 2025

Bath Spa University Degree Show
Locksbrook Campus, Bath, 2025


Exhibitions:

RECOLLECTION
Bath Artists Studios, Bath, 2024

Eye of the Apple
44ad, Bath, 2024

Frome a Box to a Cube
Walcot Chapel, Bath, 2023

IFAD Show
Locksbrook, Bath, 2022

Education:

Bath Spa University, Fine Art BA (Hons) with Intergraded Foundation Year
2021 - 2025


Awards: