Latif Al Ani (1932–1921) dedicated his photography practice to documenting Iraq’s urbanisation and modernisation. His lens chronicled the country’s historical and political transformations between the 1950s and 1970s, a period of optimism shaped by Iraq’s independence, growing oil economy and cosmopolitan aspirations.

In Monument to Freedom by Jewad Selim, Tahrir Square, Baghdad, 1962, Al Ani depicts the iconic Nasb Al-Hurriya (Freedom Monument), which was commissioned in 1959 by Brigadier General Abd al-Karim Qasim—leader of the newly formed Iraqi Republic—as a declaration of national independence. Designed by renowned sculptors Jewad and Lorna Selim to overlook central Baghdad’s al-Tahrir Square and al-Jumhuriya Bridge, the monument draws from Abbasid and Babylonian relief traditions, fusing Iraq’s rich artistic heritage with modernist techniques. 

Al-Ani’s black-and-white photograph captures a lone woman in a patterned dress gazing at the monument, underscoring the spirit of progress and modernity. Through this evocative balancing of the symbolic and the ordinary, the image powerfully reflects a society embracing change.