Qais Al Sindy

QAIS AL SINDY

Qais Al Sindy was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1967 and has a BSc degree in Engineering (1989) as well as a BFA (2000) and an MFA (2004) from the Academy of Fine Arts at Baghdad University. In Amman, Jordan, where he lived for four years, Qais taught "Art in Architectural Engineering" at the University of Applied Science. Beginning with his first major exhibition titled “Letters Don’t Burn,” which was about the burning of the Iraqi library, he has exhibited around the world on themes related to humanity, culture and civilization. Qais is of Chaldean Christian heritage and now lives in San Diego, California.

Qais Al Sindy

Living as a Pilgrim, 2019,
Oil and collage on canvas, 45x60cm

"I left my land, my land did not leave me"

Abraham begins his pilgrimage from Ur of the Chaldees, which is now called Nasiriyah in the Dhi Qar governorate of southern Iraq. This is where the Great Ziggurat of Ur was built by Ur-Nammu, the Sumerian king. As he traveled throughout foreign lands, he lived harmoniously among their peoples.

I painted Abraham carrying a sheep on his shoulders, because I see him as a shepherd leading his people to the land God promised him and his offspring. In Iraq, I bought an old Nasiriyan shepherd’s cloak made of sheep’s wool, cut it into pieces and pasted some of them on these canvases to give shape to Abraham’s clothes. I wanted to bring the spirit and soul of this great prophet through the material of his native land.

I also depict the Ziggurat as a burden on his shoulders because he carries his land with him in his heart as he journeys. The white pyramid on his left is a foreshadowing of his journey into Egypt and of what will happen to his offspring.

Qais Al Sindy

Welcoming the Stranger, 2019, Oil and collage on canvas, 45x60cm

"Three in one"

As human beings, we are all visitors in the lives of others. We visit them and then we disappear. On this canvas, I depict three people, each from a different faith, visiting an Arabian sheikh. The three small cups represent equally generous hospitality. Abraham, according to the Holy Scriptures, displayed great generosity to his visitors. One of these visitors told him that upon his return to them next year, his wife Sarah would have a son. In this work, I focus on the three visitors, rather than on Abraham the host, in an attempt to say: we are the hosts.

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