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Women in the Marshes: Paintings by Falah Saeedi
In this series, Women in the Marshes, Iraqi artist Falah Saeedi turns his attention to the women of the southern Iraqi marshlands, an environment both ancient and fragile, and a community often overlooked. Through abstracted forms and layered textures, Saeedi honors the resilience and grace of the women who live in these remote and storied landscapes.
Working in acrylic and pastel on paper (61 × 45 cm), Saeedi builds each composition with expressive lines and rich, earthy tones. Figures emerge and dissolve within the environment, suggesting both rootedness and transience. The marshes are not depicted literally, but rather evoked—through fluid shapes, organic layering, and a palette that echoes water, silt, sun, and fabric.
Born in Babil, Iraq, and now living in the United States, Saeedi’s work reflects a lifetime shaped by movement, exile, and memory. In this series, he brings the past into the present, not through nostalgia, but through transformation. These paintings are both personal and political, offering quiet tribute to the endurance of women, culture, and place.
