Sherko Abbas
Sherko Abbas is a Kurdish-Iraqi artist. He was born in Iran in 1978 where his family lived as refugees and returned to Iraq when he was two years old. He studied Fine Art in Sulaymaniyah-Iraq and graduated with a Masters in Fine Arts from Goldsmiths College, University of London in 2015.
He employs the media of video, performance, archive and sound, his practice dedicated to the sonic and visual memory and geopolitical situation of contemporary Iraq. He more focused on political transformation on the events of the Kurdish uprising in the north in 1991and the invention of Iraq in 2003 as a key to understanding of the current situation of Iraq.
His work The Music of Bush Era was exhibited in ‘Archaic’, the Iraq Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale (2017). He has participated in many other exhibitions, including Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin at the Louvre Auditorium, Bagdad mon amour at the Institut des Cultures d’Islam, ‘Vernacularity’
at the Alternativa International Visual Arts Festival in Gdansk, Poland, and ‘Estrangement’ at the Showroom, London.
CV
Education
1999
· Diploma, Institute of Fine Art, Sulaimanyah, Iraq
2005
· BA, College of Fine Art, Sulaimanyah, Iraq
2015
· MFA, Fine art, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
Scholarship
2012
· Kurdistan Regional Government scholarship to complete master in art
Selected exhibitions:
· Baghdad, mon amour, Institute des Cultures d’Islam, Paris, curated by Morad Montazam
· Archaic, Iraq Pavilion at 57th Venice Biennale, curated by Tamara Chalabi and Paolo Colombo
· The city and me hurt each other, English Hospital Sulaimanyah, Iraq, curated by Rebeen Majeed
· Clamor, Institut of Fine Arts Hall, Sulaimanyah, Iraq
2015
· Small things that matter more, Sala Gallery Italy, curated by Rebeen Majeed
· Dire Straits, Lumen Festival, New York City, curated by Sandra Skurvida
· Digite, collaboration project at The Showroom-London organized by Shama Khan
· Goldsmiths Graduate Show, Goldsmith, University of London
· Freedom at the Barricades, Vaxjo Art Hall in Sweden, curated by Martin Schibli
· When the Wild Instrument Sing, at Goldsmiths, University of London (an ongoing sound performance that initiated by Sherko Abbas, a collaboration with Kani Kamil, Khabat Abbas and Hardi Kurda
· Dire straits, Import/Export, Kassel, Germany, curated by Sandra Skurvida.
· Be alert, Merg Gallery, Hawler (Erbil), Iraq, curated by Awni Sami (Awni SB)
· OtherIS TVDINNER, IM International, Queens, New York City, curated by Sandra Skurvida
· Estrangement, Alternativa International Visual Arts Festival Gdansk, Poland, curated by Aneta Szylak and Hiwa K
· Estrangement, The Showroom, London, curated by Aneta Szylak and Hiwa K
· Researcherand coordinator of the project In-between Worlds. Kurdish Contemporary Artists with the curator Aneta Szylak, resulting in a collection of over 30 Kurdish-Iraqi artists and accompanying book in the framework of Imago Mundi project by Fabrica and Benetton Foundation, Treviso, Italy
· Clamor, Institute of Fine Art Hall in Sulaimanyah, Iraq, exhibition curator
· Postwar Culture in Iraq, operation manager of a project, National Museum of Amna Suraka, Sulaimanyah, Iraq
· Operation assistance of Richard Wilson for his installation 20;50, National Museum of Amna Suraka, Sulaimanyah, Iraq
2009
· Organiser of workshop Kurdish Colour, led by professor Michel Fehr of Art in Context Program UdK, Berlin, Sulaimanyah, Iraq
· Curator of the project Sarmady, National Museum of Amna Suraka, Sulaimanyah, Iraq
· 2005 Project . Initiator, coordinator, website and catalogue editor of exhibition featuring 10 young artists from Sulaimanyah, National
Museum of Amna Suraka, Sulaimanyah, Iraq
· Archaic, Iraq Pavilion at 57th Venice Biennale
· In-between Worlds. Kurdish Contemporary Artists, Imago mundi
· Import/Export
· Art monthly
· Alternativa
· Dado