Mohammed Sami

Mohammed Sami's paintings explore the vulnerability of memory to the passage of time. Although his works are devoid of human figures, the settings and ordinary objects portrayed are imbued with the sense of human presence. Through ambiguity and metaphorical mark-making, Sami conveys obscure and haunting narratives without directly referencing trauma or turmoil. His compositions unfold as cryptic vignettes of fragmented scenes, excavated from the past.

Sami was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1984, and currently resides and works in London, UK. He studied drawing and painting at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad before being granted asylum in Sweden in 2007. After living there for almost a decade, he pursued a degree at Ulster University-Belfast School of Art in Northern Ireland, followed by a Masters in Fine Arts at Goldsmiths College, London. Sami's work has been featured in group exhibitions in various locations and is held in numerous permanent collections, including the Tate in London, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Iraqi Ministry of Culture in Baghdad. A recent solo exhibition of his work opened to wide acclaim at Camden Art Centre and is set to travel to the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-On-Sea, England in June 2023. Sami's work is also currently on view in the 58th Carnegie International in Pittsburgh, PA.