Dia Azzawi's Tel al-Zaatar Drawings: Memory-Image and Allegory in Iraqi Modern Art

The drawings of Dia Azzawi, which depict the Tel al-Zaatar massacre from the Lebanese civil war, are influenced by the memory-image concept rooted in the Iraqi art scene of the 1960s. This technique was inspired by Kadhim Haidar, who transformed allegory from the poetic tradition of the husayniyyat into modern artistic expressions. A philosophy of history emerged from this, viewing the past as a series of tragic forms that could be reinterpreted in art as allegories for current political violence. Azzawi's method, influenced by the epic of Gilgamesh, narrates the struggles of victims, with their forms symbolizing the aggressions they endure. This approach defined Azzawi's work in his Tel al-Zaatar series and throughout the 1970s. An article published on June 5, 2013, explores the operation of this memory-image in his specific drawings.