White Moon

Red moon and white Moon hold an important significance in the historical journey of the artist’s work. At the time of executing these works the artist knew that these were very contemporary works; however, being in Baghdad and living the dire conditions of life in the aftermath of two debilitating wars and sanctions; the artist dismissed her appreciation of them.

It was in 2004 that she reconnected with the importance of these three artworks “White Moon” and “Red Moon” which she left behind when she fled her country. In 2014 she asked a friend to bring them back to her to London where she had settled. Of course, both the artist and her friend took the risk of having the works confiscated as Hanaa is on the lists of artists been recognized as important artists of Iraq.

When Hanaa reconnected with these artworks she realized even more how important they are and kept them in her private collection; she agreed to have them exhibited in the MOMA PS1 from October 2019 until end of March 2020. Today Malallah regards these works to be the inspiration and base for her next works. It is important to note that in her four years of her Bachelor degree Malallah trained in oil painting.

In the “White Moon” and “Red Moon” one can see a whole landscape manifested in the impasto strokes that were the result of a multitude of color layers. New Symbols and shapes of her characters spell out her longstanding interest in the symbolism, mythology, and characters of her country and culture. Some of the symbols she uses are intentionally interrupted thus creating a new symbol (the artist’s symbols). The tree in the white moon is an Assyrian representation of the palm tree.