Jala Wahid's 'Conflagration' at Baltic explores oil imperialism through sound and sculpture
Jala Wahid, a British-Kurdish artist, showcases 'Conflagration' at Baltic in Gateshead until 30 April. Among the exhibits is 'Naphtha Maqam' (2022), a sound installation crafted with Amal Saeed Kurda and Owen Pratt, which reimagines the oil gusher event from 15 October 1927 at the contested Baba Gurgur site. The piece features Wahid's voiceover citing a British colonial officer, while Kurda's singing intertwines Kurdish mythology with the history of oil extraction. Additional works include 'Sick Pink Sun' (2022), which honors the victims of an ISIS attack on Kirkuk's oilfields in April 2021, and 'Baba Gurgur' (2022), a two-meter tall sculpture of the Salvia spinosa flower. Wahid critiques the effects of petrocolonialism on Kurdish identity and addresses the environmental dangers posed by military pollution, challenging colonial narratives.
Key facts
- Jala Wahid's exhibition 'Conflagration' is on view at Baltic in Gateshead through 30 April
- The soundscape 'Naphtha Maqam' (2022) recreates the 15 October 1927 oil discovery at Baba Gurgur near Kirkuk
- Collaborators include singer/composer Amal Saeed Kurda and sound producer Owen Pratt
- The show includes 'Sick Pink Sun' (2022), referencing an April 2021 ISIS attack on Kirkuk's oilfields
- A sculpture 'Baba Gurgur' (2022) depicts the Salvia spinosa flower with oil-slick colors
- Wahid's previous exhibition 'Aftermath' at Niru Ratnam used archives from the Kurdish Cultural Centre and National Archives in London
- Military environmental impacts are exempt from UN reporting, a rule praised by John Kerry in 1997
- Wahid's work addresses petrocolonialism, Kurdish identity, and global climate imperialism
Entities
Artists
- Jala Wahid
- Amal Saeed Kurda
- Owen Pratt
- Frantz Fanon
- John Kerry
Institutions
- Baltic
- Niru Ratnam
- Kurdish Cultural Centre
- National Archives
- Anglo-Persian Oil Company
- United Nations
- ISIS
- British Empire
Locations
- Gateshead
- United Kingdom
- Kirkuk
- Iraq
- Kurdistan Region
- London
- Heskîf
- Hasankeyf
- Turkey
- Tigris river
- Middle East
- Syria
- Iran
- US