GHANI, Mohammed (1929-2011)

Description

These wood elements were offered by the Republic of Iraq in 1986 to decorate a door frame and two door panels. The Iraqi sculptor Mohammed Ghani wanted a space free of other decoration so that his « Door of Peace », or « Door of Paradise », would stand out. Made of okoumé wood, a light, soft wood with uniform grain, coming from Gabon, this work was sculpted directly in the workshops of UNESCO’s Headquarters, where Ghani worked during five weeks. Through its undulating and stylized patterns which evoke a bird - probably a dove as symbol of Peace - nestled in a rhythmic network of foliage, this door gives off a sense of life and energy.

Biography

Mohammed Ghani is the author of many monuments in Baghdad, among which the one in 40 Thieves Square, in the central district of Karra, where water continually flows from his statues into jars. According to Alice Bsérini, « His art is kneaded like a poem that renews and infinitely blends its sources drawn from everyday life and cultural roots in Iraq». She further explained that the artist «introduces the slit and the crack into the roundness of his shapes, as a metaphor of the drama that tears apart Iraq » (BSERENI Alice, Chronique de Bagdad, 1997-1999 : la guerre qui n’avoue pas son nom, l’Harmattan, 2000, Paris). Door handles, windows, objects from daily life: everything is a pretext for Ghani’s artistic expression and can reach the status of artwork, as is shown by the work at UNESCO.