Artist Spotlight - Sadiq Toma — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

Biography

Sadiq Toma was born 1952 in Baghdad, Iraq but now currently resides in London, England. Like many Iraqis, Sadiq Toma was exiled to England in 1978 where he has since remained. Throughout his many years of exile, Sadiq Toma continues to search for fulfilment on the canvas.

Hurricane, 1994, Acrylic on canvas, 180cm x 140cm

New themes and inspiration come from distant memories and from the past, without neglecting the present or future. Sadiq Toma is not content to merely excavate his own personal memories, which comprise of childhood games and youthful dreams, but has instead embraced the memories of an entire ancient civilisation of Iraq.

Among the Palms, 1991, Woodcut ink print on paper, 90cm x 90cm

Although influenced by Sumerian art, Sadiq Toma does not wish to be an excavator or archaeologist, only an artist who seeks a fresh vision of life and death, as did Gilgamesh in his searches and many questions about the fate of mortals.

Tree of People, 1996, Acrylic on canvas, 200cm x 150cm

By viewing the original art of Sumeria, such as fragments of clay tablets of cuneiform writing, he converts an often hidden vision in to modern form. Through the use of different materials he produces work that reflects a strong personal belief that the Sumerian era was one of the strongest influences of his Iraqi roots.

Women of Music, 1998, Acrylic on canvas, 100cm x 75cm

Artist Statement

“Homage to the past, to the first seeds of civilisation in my native land.
Homage to man who created the first words, the first signs and letters on the fragment of a clay tablet, to the first fossils under the sand.

Stella, 2010, Mixed media, 120cm x 120cm

Homage to my past, my childhood, my youth, to the memories of playing with a stick and a wheel, flying kites of paper, fishing with a rod by the riverbank among reclining canoes on the shore, and the shady palm trees with their swags of succulent dates overhead and the first realisation of love lost to the girl of my dreams who lived just doors away from mine!

Loneliness, 1994, Acrylic on canvas, 180cm x 137cm

Homage to the fertile clay along the rivers and to the water running along the streams which supported my people through history and time.
Homage to the past who deliver to a great future.”

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