Jamus
Jamus
By Rayya Nizar Salim
In Artworks
Stock level: 1 left
Item details:
▸ Features: Handmade Unique Piece▸ Materials: Metal Mix Wood Burlap Thread Wool
▸ Art technique: Hand Weaving Macramework Embossed Metal
▸ Dimensions (cm): 100.0 x 137.0 x 4.0
▸ Net Weight (kg): 2.5
Jamus is the Iraqi name for water buffalo.
The Jamus water buffalo is a motif in Iraqi culture. It is also a source for the survival of the marshes of southern Iraq. The women through the milk of the buffalo create Qemar cream as a breakfast Iraqi staple.
This visceral connection to Iraq is at the heart of this work. The women's narratives that weave stories of strength and survival despite the barriers are the driving theme of Jamus.
About Rayya Nizar Salim
Rayya Nizar Salim is a self-taught Beirut-based Iraqi/German multimedia artist. From an early age, Rayya was surrounded by her paternal family's artists and thinkers, the Salim family. As she moved with her family around the world, she watched her father painting and sculpting being surrounded by artists, she learned artistic techniques and practices that inspired her and later were incorporated into her art.
A Mother of three, she worked in Kuwait, Jordan, and the UAE at the UNHCR and Swedish Embassy. After retirement, Rayya has dedicated her time to the arts. In 2019, with her Lebanese husband, she moved to Lebanon, where she works from her Studio in Mar Mikhael.
Rayya works with different media, metal sheets, acrylic painting, clay, cloth, and wire, as well as incorporating ancient craftsmanship, weaving, macrame, block printing, and metal embossing in her art. The artist’s interpretation of the complex histories of her home and adopted countries, Iraq and Lebanon, are woven together using images, childhood memories, ancient mythology, and folklore.
Rayya has participated in the following collective art exhibitions: 2017 - Cultural Art Exhibition at The Iraqi Embassy in Abu Dhabi - Eclectic Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi 2018 - Cultural Art Exhibition at the Iraqi Consulate – Dubai 2022 - Into the Light – Art for Change, Hamra Beirut 2023 - Brain Food Art Exhibition, La Maison Des Artistes Gallery, Beirut 2023 - Art Her Way Exhibition, Kulturnest, Beirut, 2024.