Until 30 May 2025, Ayyam Gallery is holding طرس (Tterss), a compelling solo exhibition by conceptual artist Sama Alshaibi. Featuring her latest works, the show delves into the layered complexities of Baghdad, intertwining personal memory with historical and political narratives.
The title, طرس (Tterss), which translates to “palimpsest,” reflects Alshaibi’s exploration of Baghdad as a city inscribed with overlapping histories and identities. After a 40-year absence, Alshaibi returned to Baghdad between 2021 and 2023, a city she had long known more through imagination than experience. Employing LiDAR technology, she scanned neighbourhoods, landmarks, and marshland peripheries, capturing both physical structures and the ephemeral presence of daily life.
The exhibition displays mixed-media collages and video works that layer these scans with photographs, archival materials — including her father’s photos and the architectural archives of renowned Iraqi architect Rifat Chadirji — and speculative renderings. This assemblage creates fragmented narratives that trace Baghdad’s shifting form and the desires imposed upon it.
Alshaibi’s work initiates a dialogue about the enduring impact of historical events on urban landscapes and individual psyches. Her collages explore Baghdad’s ongoing transformation and invite viewers to contemplate the intricate interplay between memory, architecture, and the relentless march of time.
About the artist
Sama Alshaibi, born in Basra, Iraq, in 1973 to an Iraqi father and a Palestinian mother, is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in the USA. She earned a BA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago (Illinois, USA) in 1999 and an MFA in Photography, Video, and Media Arts from the University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado, USA). She holds the prestigious position of Regents Chair of Photography, Video, and Imaging at the University of Arizona (Tucson, USA).
Alshaibi’s practice spans video, performative photography, sculpture, and installation. Her work is deeply informed by personal experiences of war and displacement, exploring themes of conflict, exile, migration, power, and resilience. Frequently appearing in her work, Alshaibi uses her body as a symbolic vessel to embody broader geopolitical narratives and confront the legacy of violence and survival.
The artist has displayed her art pieces in multiple exhibitions, including Being and Belonging (Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada, 2023); the 13th Cairo International Biennale (Egypt, 2019); Sama Alshaibi: Silsila (solo) (Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona, the USA, 2016); and the 55th Venice Biennale, Maldives National Pavilion, Maldives (2013), among others.
Alshaibi is the recipient of different awards and grants, such as, for example, the Guggenheim Fellowship (NYC, NY, the USA, 2021), the AFAC Visual Arts Grant from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (Beirut, Lebanon, 2017), and the Fulbright Scholars Fellowship (Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine, 2014-15). Her art pieces are in many prestigious collections, such as the Barjeel Art Foundation (Sharjah), The Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, Texas, the USA), and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Tunis, Tunisia).
To learn more about Tterss, please visit the official web page of the exhibition.
In addition, you may be interested in attending Lines of Flight, Shilpa Gupta’s solo show.
To stay updated with the latest art news, you can join our Telegram channel.
