On Thursday 16th March at San Servolo, the result of a long collaborative journey has finally arrived, coming from Iraq to Venice, Matti al-Kanun’s work is now being exhibited. His work has been restored after his paintings were slashed by the Isis military with iconoclastic rage due to the christian religious figures.
The artist himself was present, accompanied by the journalist Emanuele Confortin, who he met for the first time in March 2017 in an Iraqi refugee camp. It was this rather casual meeting that led to the blossoming of this wonderful project, which led to the two meeting again in Bartella, the hometown of the artist that had just been freed from Isis, to recuperate the canvases that had been left behind. Following this, they collaborated with Ca’ Foscari’s Center for the Humanities and Social Change, the Nuova Icona cultural association, and San Servolo Servizi Metropolitani.
These associations recognised the high value of this project that tells the story of the irrational violence of the so-called Islamic State, but also the desire to return to peace and quiet. The artist decided to mend the slashes as a sign of resilience throughout war and violence, and to symbolise a future of reconciliation of the various Iraqi communities, dispersed and divided due to a war that has been going on for 15 years already. The remnants left behind from the violence of war on the land and on the people cannot be erased, but the hope is to return to living as a cohesive and peaceful community.
The show was preceded by a conference with many contributions, including Fulvio Landillo, the general director of ‘San Servolo Servizi Metropolitani’, who unveiled the works. He underlined how these events, that speak of hope and the future, are representative of the Island that hosts the Collegio di Merito di Ca’ Foscari, the Venice International University and the Academy of Fine Arts; all institutions are full of young people who need inspiration from stories such as this.
Professor Shaul Bassi, director of the Center for the Humanities and Social Change, then presented the President of Humanities and Social Change International Foundation, Erck Rickmers, the financier of the Centre of Ca’ Foscari and the other ‘twin’ centres, recently created at the Humboldt University of Berlin, the University of Cambridge, and the Santa Barbara University of California. In his speech, Rickmers highlighted the responsibility of professors and intellectuals in society, especially in times as difficult and complicated as this. The progress will only make sense if it involves every sphere of our lives, and only if it is the beginnings of a concrete change. The motto of the foundation is ‘Understand, Inspire, Change’, to really underline the importance of real action, and that has an impact on everyday life. The work of journalists is vital in this context, because not only do they examine and tell the latest issues, but they are capable of having a large impact on public opinion.
The story told by Emanuele Confortin definitely carries an important message: like he himself confirmed in his speech, the artist’s work has political value, a message of hope and brotherhood that in this historical moment triumphs the narratives of hatred makes it even more significant.
Matti Al-Kanun then thanked Emanuele for all that he had done for the project, for helping him realise his dreams of coming to Italy as a painter. He also said that Venice, the most famous city in the world, has always been an open city, with a diverse culture and civilisation.
His interpreter, Abdoul Jabbar Mustafa is the legal representative for the Focsiv Federation, that gathers Christistian Italian non-governmental youth organisations that are active in the field of solidarity with developing countries. In September 2014, a few months after Isis occupied Mosul, the associations gathered in mass to help the displaced persons and refugees, providing assistance, in particular to women, with training courses and family medical assistance. Focsiv was also involved in providing support for journalists, to let the voices of those at refugee camps be heard. It had also collaborated with Emanuele Confortin, ‘Back to life in Iraq’, said Jabbar Mustafa, ‘is certainly the most beautiful and successful project, because the exhibition showcases Iraqi, Syrian and Kurdish culture, not through images of violence and terrorism that we see all too often, but through art and beauty.
We were also joined by Carlotta Sami, spokesperson for the UNHCR, as well as Professor Sara de Vido, who dealt with important themes such as refugee immigration, the need to understand refugees and migrants as humans, and the protection of cultural heritage and human rights from the point of view of international human rights.
The restoration of Matti al-Kunan’s works were carried out by a team of restauration students at Ca’ Foscari, led by Professors Elisabetta Zendri and Alessandra Carrieri who were at the conference with the students Mara Bortolini and Martina Donà. Together, they told the story of their experience doing the restauration, collaboration with the artist and the challenges they tackled. From the initial shock of such a brutal attack to a beautiful artistic message, to the enthusiasm of participating in a one-of-a-kind project. For the first time, they were challenged with a restauration with the aim of regenerating the works without erasing their wounds, and conserving their memory with their mind always facing the future of peace that they represent.
The final speech was made by Vittorio Urbani, director of the ‘Nuova Icona’ association, and for many years has been the curator of the Pavilion of the Republic of Iraq at the Venice Biennale; even on these occasions the intention was to change the narrative of Iraq, too often focused on war and violence.
The Nuova Icona motto is ‘Make things things happen’, and a project like back to life in Iraq, besides having great artistic value, represents a real commitment, and promotes a real change.
Teresa Trallori
