December 3rd 2024 - January 21st 2025,
Princess Irenestraat 36, 1077 WX, Amsterdam
Rushdi Anwar’s solo exhibition, titled 'Endless Tears in the Garden of Eden' will be on view at de Thomas in Amsterdam. From December 3rd 2024 until January 21st 2025, two large installations and a sculpture sound-work by Anwar can be experienced in the impressive church hall of The Thomas.
Additionally, on December 10th, a special edition of ThomasTALK will feature a panel discussion with Anwar (joining online), alongside live attendance by journalist and writer Ana van Es, filmmaker Reber Dosky, and singer Wasim Arslan.
"Every artwork by Rushdi Anwar (b. 1971, Halabja, Iraqi-Kurdistan) begins with a story. A story that connects histories – from the present to the past, and towards hope for a better future. The exhibition title, Endless Tears in the Garden of Eden, also refers to paradise, the Garden of Eden.
Anwar tells stories that have their origins in historic Kurdistan. An area where for a long time diverse ethnicities, cultures and religions lived together: Kurds, Assyrians, Arabs, Turkmen, Yezidi, Armenians, Kakai (Yarsanism), Shabaks,different streams of Christians , Sunni, Shiite, and , Alevi Beliefs. This is until the moment the Sykes-Picot Treaty in 1916, with just a few strokes of the pen, drew the borders through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and divided it into French and British spheres of influence in West Asia. From then on this region of the Middle East has been divided into warring states.
Through his work, Anwar pays attention to this history and the endless conflicts that arise in the area he comes from, Iraqi-Kurdistan. He pays attention to the ways in which the area and its ancient cultures and religions relate to the world and to historic Kurdistan, from the ancient world to the world today. His work always offers a glimpse of the future and with glimmers of hope for a world of transnational connection." from www.dethomas.nl
Opening Date & Time | Tue 3 December, 5:00 - 8:00 pm (CET)
ThomasTALK | Tue 10 December
