What if we set the stage and give people the chance?
What if from the void and the ruins emerges something new? Something which testifies for the continuation of society rising from the rubble? What if the void becomes a new beginning that is without fear, boundaries, constraints or bias?
These are some of the questions that Bahrain based Iraqi architect Mohammed Salim attempts to answer in his work. Below are images in which white spaces are superimposed on satellite images of different cities in Iraq. The white spaces represent new beginnings for the people of these cities, without any obstacles or bias and open to countless opportunities. Once printed, people can use the vacant spaces to project what they want to see happen next.
In some of the images, the superimposed blank spaces are placed over locations of trauma such as the twin bombings of 2017 that rocked Baghdad’s Karrada district and nearby Shuhada Bridge.
Inspired by a similar body of work by American artist Sol Lewitt, Salim hopes his work brings forth a curious map that is recognizable as Iraq, but with visibly missing parts that are both provocative and encouraging.
