Born in Theeqar, Iraq in 1958, London-based Hanaa Malallah is a visual artist and educator. She received a bachelor’s degree in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Baghdad, an MA in Painting, a Ph.D. in the Philosophy of Painting from the University of Baghdad and a post-graduate certificate in Islamic and Modern Art from SOAS, London. She taught at the Institute of Fine Arts and the University of Fine Arts in Baghdad and holds a fellowship at the Chelsea College of Arts. According to Malallah, destruction is an intrinsic part of the human condition. By “ruining” found objects, disfiguring the physical element, Malallah contemporised ancient Mesopotamian culture. She has taken interest in the negative space within landscapes. In a changing world, ruled by technology, her exploration seeks to bridge the divide between the virtual and the
spiritual. Her work was included in the 2008 group show “Iraq’s Past Speaks to the Present ‘’ at the British Museum and is also part of the museum’s permanent collection. She is also on display in Jordan’s Museum of Fine Arts Amman, the Centre for Modern Art in Baghdad, the Arab Museum of Modern Art Doha, and the Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah. The artist was the recipient of a prize awarded by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation
