During the first Gulf war, Iraqi artist Karim took a brave stance against Saddam’s regime. In order to avoid military conscription he hid in the Iraqi desert for three years in a hole covered by rocks. His only human contact was with a Bedouin woman who brought him food and water. Long after his emigration to America, this terrible experience continues to inform his artwork.

Karim is best known for series’ of blurred portraits. This one is called Hidden Dolls and shows the women behind a tightly stretched piece of silk. The viewer can’t be sure whether the blur is digital or physical and ends up squinting at the print. Our very own founder successfully uses the same technique as part of the ‘blur photography‘ movement.  In the wise words of the Saatchi, “This ‘barrier’ between viewer and image can be conceived as a liminal space, a transcendental portal between being and becoming, where the mystical properties of change take place.” See more of Karim’s work here.