OYOUNI

Oyouni uses Mesopotamian visual codes to present a series of portraits of Iraqis whose eyes are concealed behind larger eyes that are round and opaque and at the same time empty and full of life. These are large and mysterious 3D-printed eyes like those created by Mesopotamian sculptors of the Sumerian period. They prevent us from seeing where the person wearing them is looking and they’re accompanied by Sumerian harp music and ancient Sumerian chanting. But they also show us which era these young people belong to and identify with. These are contemporary Iraqis, proud young people, whose Instagram profile names are written in cuneiform. Their motto is “Irak Wahed: One Iraq”. There can be no doubt that differences in political and religious convictions notwithstanding, these Iraqis are united by a single cultural identity dating back millennia, one inherited from ancient Mesopotamia.