Rawan Almukhtar

Rawan Almukhtar is a visual artist, political activist and was born in Baghdad in 1991. He studied painting at the University of Fine Arts in Baghdad. Shortly before fleeing, Almukhtar explored the theme of confessionalized violence at the Takrib Institute for Contemporary Arts in Baghdad. After fleeing Iraq, new opportunities opened up for him to address political issues more directly and critically. Since 2018, he has been studying drawing at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. The October Revolution of 2019 marks an important break and a new artistic and thematic direction for Almukhtar. Demands for regime change and the fight against corruption initially also inspired Almukhtar's work and political activism in Vienna. After the murder of 800 demonstrators of the October Revolution in Baghdad in 2020, Almukhtar is currently dealing with the issue of state-sanctioned violence.

Rawan Almukhtar impressively visualizes his in-depth examination of the Austrian-made HS.50 sniper rifle. 800 of these large-caliber machine guns made in Austria are still circulating in the ranks of various militias and terrorist organizations in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon. Almukhtar sheds light on the involvement of Austrian arms companies in war regions such as Iraq. In the project The Chosen Arm, Almukhtar reproduces 800 so-called Combat Prints with the aim of visualizing, naming and materializing violence and its birthplace Austria. Finally, Almukhtar is concerned with a break with the practice of not (wanting to) know and the ethical questions of political responsibility.