Sami, Mohammed
Mohammed Sami’s paintings explore belated memories from when he immigrated to Sweden as a refugee from his native Iraq, which are triggered by common everyday objects and the banal. Rather than using the theme of trauma as a testimony to the Iraq conflict, which he witnessed first-hand, Sami deploys painting to articulate war, memory and loss. Semi-abstract and multi-textured, his work creates a nuanced relationship between the original event and its present-day recollection.
Infection II, 2021, is part of a series of paintings depicting interior scenes. The title aims to delude the viewer from the meaning of the painting, which at first glance looks like a sinister black mould – or a spider perhaps – creeping into a living space. Sami’s work often appears playful, yet traditional modes such as still life and landscape painting acquire a strange, muted twist to become uncanny illusions.
- Artwork Details: 210 x 180.5cm
- Edition:
- Material description: Spray paint, acrylic on linen
- Credit line: © the artist. Image courtesy of the artist and Modern Art, London
- Theme:
- Medium: Painting
- Accession number: ACC19/2021