Bio

 

 

​Ali Raza Garmiany is a Kurdish visual artist born in Iraqi Kurdistan in 1980. His early life was profoundly affected by the Iran-Iraq War and the Anfal genocide, experiences that deeply influence his artistic work. In 1991, following the Kurdish uprising, he and his family fled to Iran, enduring a 26-day journey on foot through the mountains.

 Garmiany graduated from the Erbil-Institute of Fine Art with a specialization in painting. In 2007, he relocated to Ireland to further his art studies. He earned a degree in Art and Design from GMIT Art College in Galway and completed a master’s in art and process at CIT Crawford College of Art and Design in 2015

Artistic Practice

Garmiany’s primary media include painting, installation, mixed media, and video art. His work often visualizes the traumatic memories of the Kurdish people, especially the victims of the Anfal genocide. He employs materials like clothing, shoes, sand, and rope to evoke the personal belongings of those buried in mass graves during the genocide. Notable exhibitions include “Memory of the Sand,” which showcased installations reflecting on these themes.

Garmiany's art delves into themes of violence, collective memory, and hope, often reflecting on the Kurdish struggle and the Anfal genocide of 1988. He employs various media, including painting, installation, mixed media, and video art, to convey these narratives. Notable works include "Memory and Loss," a portrait made of poured sand and fabric depicting Taimoor Abdullah, a survivor of the Anfal genocide , and "Memory of the Sand," an installation visualizing the belongings of Kurdish victims buried in mass graves

 

Exhibitions and Recognition

Garmiany has participated in various international exhibitions, including the JAALA 22 Yokohama in Japan. In 2015, he was among six artists nominated for the seventh Artes Mundi Prize, the UK’s leading international art prize based in Wales. 

Publications and Contributions

Beyond his visual art, Garmiany has contributed articles on art history and critiques to publications magazines such as Shaker, Aynda, Shewakari, Hunari New, and Guna. He also served as the editor of Hunari New, a modern art magazine.

 

 

Artist statement

Visualizing traumatic memory of the clothing and belongings of the Kurdish victims of the Anfal genocide, who were buried in shallow mass graves in remote desert locations in the South of Iraq between 1987-1988. I have used sand to recreate environment of the event within texture in my work as it is related to the place of the genocide in the desert. There is a variation of works that I have created with using different elements and materials such as location (Site) which is related to the area were the genocide and atrocity occurred.  The impact of using clothing absent bodies in order to memories the event in the pass and connected to the present, embodying through the skill of artistic works that I have created.

My current artistic work is about the traumatic memory of the Anfal genocide that occurred in 1988 in Kurdistan regional of Iraq. As a Kurdish I have concentrated on the field of genocide and expressed it through my art works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Qualifications

 

2015 - Master Degree (MA) in Art & Process Crawford College of Art and Design CIT, Cork, Ireland

 

2013 - Bachelor Degree (BA, Hons) in Fine Art Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), Galway. Ireland

 

2011 - Bachelor Degree (BA, OD) in Art & design Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), Galway, Ireland

 

2002 - Diploma Degree (Taught) in Fine Art Institute of Fine Art, Erbil, Kurdistan Iraqi region.

 

 

Solo Art Exhibitions

 

  • 2019 – 8 the Solo art exhibition “ MEMORY OF THE SAND” Erbil, Kurdistan parliament Building.

 

  • 2011 - 7th Solo art Exhibition “Humans Collage”

 Part of Galway Fringe Festival at Claddagh Hall, Galway City. Ireland.

 

  • 2010 - 6th art Exhibition. “Colour of Rain”

GMIT  Art College, Galway, Ireland.

 

  • 2008 - 5th Solo art Exhibition ‘Green- Island’

 part of Waterford Imagine art festival Waterford City Centre Library, Ireland.

 

  • 2005 - 4th art Solo Exhibition “The Shadow of Anfal Passage,

 Installation Erbil National park Kurdistan Iraqi Region.

 

  • 2004 - 3rd Solo art Exhibition “Fear”

. Erbil Art College hall, Kurdistan, Iraqi Region.

 

  • 2004 - 2nd art Solo Exhibition “Satellite Technology Communication”

Installation in Erbil Art College Hall, Kurdistan, Iraqi Region.

 

  • 2003 -1st Solo art Exhibition “Experimental”,

 Erbil Medea art Gallery, Kurdistan, Iraqi Region.

 

Group Art Exhibitions

 

  • 2016 - Participated a group art exhibition( Looking East ) an exhibition with Artists Abeer Bajandouh   Darcy Heuser Ahmed Nasir  14th of April 2016 in NCAD, Dublin, Ireland 

 

  • 2016 - Participated in a video art group exhibition ( Intangible form) with ARTISTS

CIANA FITZGERALD - KEVIN O’KELLY - NAOIMH NI LUANAIGH - OLIVIA SPARROW - National College of art and design, NCAD  at the Diageo building Dublin, 8 Thursday 28 April, 6 - 8.

 

  • 2016 - Participated Art Dubai. RCA Secret Dubai is an postcard exhibition

 

  • 2016 - International Group Art exhibition, PIXELS OF IDENTITIES - THE BODY LANGUAGE Bogotá
  • BAC Gallery, Bogotá (Colombia): January 21, jaunary,2016

 

  • 2015 - “Conflict and Hope”, participation in a group exhibition at The Nour Arts festival, Ismaili centre, London. 31/10/2015

 

  • 2014 - at the MA a group Exhibition. The Day Came Fat at the CIT Wandesford Quay Gallery, Cork

 

  • 2014 - Annual group exhibition by students of the MA in Art & Process (MA:AP) at CIT Crawford College of Art & Design.

 

  • 2013 - Ink on Paper, Group Print Exhibition, London.

 

  • 2012 - Group Print Exhibition National University of Ireland, Galway City, Ireland.

 

  • 2008 - Group Exhibition, “Port Gallery” Waterford City, Ireland.