Halim Al Karim

Iraqi artist Halim Al Karim was born in 1963 in Nafjat, Iraq. A graduate of Baghdad Academy of Fine Arts and Gerrit Reitveld Academy in Amsterdam, he lives and works in Colorado, U.S.A.

Inspired by the principles of mysticism, Halim Al Karim's works have an undeniable spiritual aspect to them. In sculpture and in paint, and in the manner of the Sufis, Al Karim is absorbed with uniting the hidden and revealed, light and darkness, and the material and ephemeral. Halim Al Karim`s interest in this dialectic essentially stems from his experience of conflict in Iraq and of teetering between life and death. As has been relayed, between 1989 and 1991, Halim Al Karim hid in a hole in the ground that was covered by a dome of rocks with only a few cracks to let in light and air. Al Karim survived three years in the hole by virtue of the kindness of a Bedouin lady from whom he learned about gypsy culture, magic, and spirituality. Halim Al Karim says of this revelatory time, 'Through holes in the dome, I could watch the whole galaxy.'

Halim Al Karim's period in hiding, in addition to his having lost four brothers and a sister to violence and his witnessing of the fragility of life in Iraq today, led him to turn away from the brutality of reality and take refuge in the shelter of the realm of thoughts and dreams. A firm believer that self-discovery occurs through suffering, Halim Al Karim's anguish led him to set out on a journey towards an elevated understanding of his own being. From this metaphysical search, Al Karim developed a comprehension of his self and of the contemporary world that is very much based on the traditions, philosophies, and symbols of his ancient ancestors and in particular the Sumerians, a comprehension that clearly manifests itself in his work. The seemingly conflicting influences emerge in the play with sharpness and fuzziness which are interwoven in Halim Al Karim`s works. Dialectically uncertainty copes with clear-sightedness, individuality is confronted with generality and reconciliation finds itself next to accusation. In spite of alienation opposites regain a common level where time and place of the subject lose their relevance.

In his work Halim Al Karim deals with the changing mentality of urban society. He describes himself as a unity with his camera with which he forms a truth-seeking device reconciled by the mechanisms of betrayal. The search is carried by quotes of the mystic tradition, politics and Western society. In spite of being visible, the recipient fails to receive answers which are served on a silver platter. The observer is seeking for an answer but we ourselves must find it.

Halim Al Kalim has exhibited his works internationally in the Netherlands, U.A.E., Lebanon, Jordan, U.S.A. and France. His work was awarded the jury prize in the International Cairo Biennale of Egypt and ins in numerous museum collections around the world.