Organized in collaboration with the Bahrain Cancer Society (BCS), the exhibition opened on February 4^th- World Cancer Day- and was one of many events organized by the BCS as a means to bring attention to and generate funds for the cause.

Held under the patronage of the prominent Patron of the Arts, HE Shaikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the opening was also attended by Minister of Culture, HE Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa and brought dignitaries, ambassadors, art patrons and artists- people from all facets of Bahraini society- many of whom have been influenced by the artist over the years. Nasiri’s work, reflective of a sense of romantic ‘Arabism’, is easily relatable to many of his generation and is also in a sense, a melancholic prelude to the contemporary art of the region, in particular the Levant, an area so characterized by ongoing political, cultural and social transformation.

The exhibition displays a careful selection of works from four themes; ‘ Beside the River’, ‘Light From Darkness’, ‘Windows’ and ‘Bab Al Bahrain’ – on paper, photography, acrylic painting and prints.

The 5 print sets are inspired by the writings of poets such as Mahmood Darwish, Al Jawahiri, Etel Adnan and May Muzaffar. The suggestive Arabic characters Nasiri often employs are both a prelude to the poetic language of these celebrated voices as well as a means to experiment with form. One such example is ‘A Library Set on Fire’- a set of 6 silkscreen prints from 2008. Introducing the collection is a poem by Etel Adnan that speaks of the destruction of Baghdad physically and spiritually on the eve of the Gulf War (2003)- it’s looming despondency reverberating through each image in ‘Rorschach Test likeness’. But is our interpretation of this imagery simply a projection of our own disturbed nature? Or are these maps of the Iraqi landscape, deconstructed and destroyed, where what remains is fire burning through culture and lands surrounded by oceans of darkness?

Despite having lived away from his native Iraq for many years, Nasiri retains a deep and unwavering connection to the land of his forefathers- a sentiment that is clearly expressed. His series ‘Beside the River’ speaks of memories associated with his time spent near the Tigris River- a place that became a physical and spiritual haven for the artist since he was a child:

Beside The River.
Acrylic and Mixed Media on Paper.
56 x 76 cm. 2012

Rafa Al Nasiri

It is because of his physical disconnect from his country, that Rafa feels as if his identity ‘exists’ neither ‘here’ nor ‘there’ but rather at the crossroads between his past and his present. This awareness has encouraged him to question the tangibility of ‘time’, whereby his work materializes as a yearning to depict the moment where the past and present, then and now, here and there, occur simultaneously. It is this yearning that prompted Nasiri’s interest the Buddhist philosophy of impermanence and eternality particularly after living in Beijing studying Chinese painting and printmaking under his teachers Li Hua and Huang Yong Yu. The knowledge that he developed as a result of these influences also explains his decision to define this particular exhibition’s collection as one of ‘Being in the Moment’ rather than ‘Living in the Moment’- this simple wordplay suggestive of a deeper, philosophical existence- one that requires spiritual presence rather than just physical.

Light From Darkness
Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas
80 x 90 cm
2007

Nasiri’s work speaks to generations about loss of homeland and a longing for a time that continues to exist through dreams and memories. In an era of rapid transformation, it comes as no surprise then that as the exhibition met the appreciation of many Bahraini collectors, many of whom have in a sense, projected a claim on Nasiri’s work as if it was theirs before it even existed; as if the memory that the work imparts was something that they had also once lived. And when asked, “why do you think your work is relevant and relatable to so many?” Nasiri thoughtfully replies, “you can find your own answers, in time.”

- Yasmin Sharabi
Kingdom of Bahrain, 2013