 | Perspectives.Beirut
Perspectives (Mashahid)
In this group of work – I have worked in two directions;
One is affected by my surroundings and what is happening around me that I cannot isolate myself from.
These happenings become part of my painting. For example the paintings of Women walking, titled,‘Where are they going?’ ‘Carrying her bag’ ‘Spring Flowers’, symbolize the continuity of life no matter what the hardships are ... So the women are symbols of the resilience of life and instinct for survival. |
 | Horizon Lines 2008 Amman
Beirut and then Amman have become my home for the last year; after leaving Washington DC. I set up my studio and started to paint again, at first I kept painting out my inner images of Iraq…then my new surroundings started to work their way into my paintings, I became fascinated with the cityscapes, the subtle colors and the hidden history of old civilizations that lie under the surface.
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 | Beirut 2007
Beirut has been my home for the last year; I came in the aftermath of the Lebanese Israeli war. I saw all the destruction of the bombing and sadness on peoples faces.
After I set up my studio and started to paint again, at first I kept painting out my inner images of Iraq…until Beirut started to work its way into my paintings, I found that I was fascinated with the richness of my surroundings |
 | Out of Iraq
Leila explores the Iraq she once knew and the difficulty of facing the dramatic changes that have been unfolding since the war. She creates work that is multidimensional in composition and concept. The dark figures of Iraqi women dressed in long black garbs depict the resilience of the women and their will to survive. "These are intelligent women, this is not a statement about their oppression, and the veil is just what they wear". |
 | New Beginnings
After a recent visit to Iraq, my birthplace, where the sun of civilization dawned, I saw rays of gold splashed on palm trees yet casting dark shadows on the ancient land. A new beginning will usher peace as Gilgamesh navigates his country through the sea of darkness, under the watchful eye of Inanna whose female form I found mirrored in the palm trees which bend and dance with the wind, supple and enduring, until harmony returns. |
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