The daughter of the artists Nazar and niece of Jawad Salim, Rayya has grown up in the world of modern Iraqi art, and this intimate lived experience is evident in her Art. Utilizing both ancient and modern Mesopotamian art, calligraphy and imagery in all her pieces, Rayya welds tradition and modernity using mixed media sources from across the region. Themes of family, homes, towns and villages, and
symbols of peace, coexistence, luck and prosperity are celebrated using styles from ancient Sumerian artwork as well as modern techniques. The faces painted chronicle long and colorful connections to Iraqi art from Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian times to the present. The idea behind the cylinders was inspired by the Sumerian cylinders, in which ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia used to exchange messages. Pre-modern ideas of art centered the practice as one of lived experience, and Rayya maintains this philosophy—creating works of art that are both beautiful to exhibit as well as form part of practical everyday life: in candles, trays, bookmarks, and more household items and wearable art and jewelry. All artworks are handmade by Rayya Nazar Salim to ensure the intricacy and soulfulness of designs. No two pieces are the same, making each a time-honored, one-of-a-kind work of art. Bio:
Rayya Nazar Salim is now based in Beirut. The daughter of the artist Nazar Salim and niece of renouned artist and sculptor Jawad Salim, from a very early age in Baghdad Rayya was surrounded by the leading artists and thinkers of modern Iraq. As her family moved around the world she learned artistic techniques and practices from North Africa, China, the Middle East and Europe. Formerly working with the UNHCR, Rayya now devotes her time to art.
