Mural in Nahla, Iraq

Commissioned by Gishru, Bridge to Assyria, in collaboration with Ashour Kasrani and the Mata d’awa’ha’tha (Village of Ancestors), within the villages that make up the region of Nahla, Iraq.

The imagery in the mural speaks to the purpose of the Gishru trip for Assyrians — to be a bridge that reconnects them to their homeland. As a bridge goes both ways, I took the opportunity of this mural to bring back imagery that has also lived in exile — symbols and details from Assyrian ancient reliefs that reside in museums in diaspora. Pictured are lions, libation streams, palm trees, and tassels from the robes of kings and deities. In the middle are pictured a man and a woman, on their garments symbols of Ishtar, Shamash, and Sin, as a representation of the modern-day descendants of these deities.

Here is a feature about the project by Joe Snell at al-Monitor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI_79OPYmF0