Alia Farid's recent work examines the impact of extractive industries on southern Iraq's and Kuwait's ecological and social fabric through different forms. Farid is a Kuwaiti-Puerto Rican visual artist, but Chibayish (2023) and Kupol LR 3303 Talisman (2025) are centred on Iraq’s material and cultural history. Talismans, a series of six panels, builds on research conducted in Stanford University into thousands of Iraqi objects and archives obtained over the last two decades during the US invasion of the country. It encompasses her ongoing experiments with blue faience and polyester resin, which she layers with images tracing her matriarchal lineage as well as Iraqi spiritual traditions that assume the form of charts and cosmological maps. The film installation Chibayish depicts the relational ecosystem shared by the residents of the Ahwar, the southern marshlands of Iraq, and the water buffalo. By enquiring into the contemporary experiences of these ancient wetland communities and their fragile interconnectedness, the work informs us of alternative methods and thoughts about how to survive our ongoing ecological crises. Watch as Sharjah Biennial 16 co-curator Amal Khalaf explores the artist's work at this year's Biennial. 

Subscribe to Sharjah Art Foundation's Youtube channel for more artist stories, exhibitions, and behind-the-scenes insights.

Director - @ward helal  

Camera Operators - @ward helal, Magdi Emad, @shefeek_sha_nk, @alialfadly1  

Editor - @ward_helal  

Sound Design - @unnikrishnan.sb  

Production Manager - @dimzyb  

Assistant Director - @unnikrishnan.sb