Page 29 - ARUBA TODAY

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PEOPLE & ARTS Friday 6 december 2019

Baghdad tunnel becomes a museum for Iraq’s protest movement

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA ing the famed U.S. “We
Associated Press Can Do It” poster; faces in
BAGHDAD (AP) — The im- drawings shout in anger or
ages are both haunting pain.
and inspiring, transforming Haydar Mohammed said
a once dreary, grim under- he and a group of other
pass into a vivid, colorful medical students were
wall of art. partly responsible for the
“We want a nation, not a murals. They met in Tahrir
prison,” says one painting and saw the tunnels walls
that depicts a man burst- were a perfect medium to
ing free from behind bars. send a message to those
“Plant a revolution, and who are suspicious of the
you will harvest a nation,” protesters, he said.
reads another showing a “We are life-makers not
hand flashing the victory death-makers,” he said.
sign over protesters heads. “We decided to draw
Some of the messages simple paintings to support
are less sentimental. “Look our protester brothers and
at us, Americans, this is all to express our message,
your fault,” declares one. which is a peace mes-
The Saadoun Tunnel has sage.”
become an ad hoc mu- Many of the murals carry
seum for Iraq’s massive calls for anti-sectarianism,
anti-government protest peace and a free Iraq. In
movement. Along its walls, In this Monday, Nov. 18, 2019 photo, a woman poses for a photo in front of graffiti at the Saadoun one painting, a little girl
tunnel, in Baghdad, Iraq.
young artists draw murals, Associated Press cries, declaring “They killed
portraits and graffiti that my dream,” referring to the
illustrate the country’s tor- protesters from crossing Tigris that protesters took Young protesters, men and group of men behind her,
tured past and the Iraq bridges over the Tigris Riv- over have all become sym- women, throng the tun- some in religious clothes.
they aspire to. er to the Green Zone, the bols of what has become nel — actually a long un- Another shows an Iraqi
The tunnel passes under seat of Iraq’s government. the largest grassroots pro- derpass, most of which is protester wearing a helmet
Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, Tuk tuks — three-wheeled test movement Iraq has open to the air except for against tear gas with the
the epicenter of the pro- motorcycle transports — seen. The protests erupted enclosed portions directly Arabic words: “In the heart
tests where thousands of often zip back and forth Oct. 1 over longstand- beneath Tahrir — and pass is something that cannot
people are camped out in through the Saadoun Tun- ing grievances at corrup- time there hanging out or be killed by guns, which
a giant sit-in that has taken nel, rushing wounded pro- tion, unemployment and taking selfies in front of the is the nation.” Nearby is
on the feel of a vibrant testers from the front lines a lack of basic services murals. Caricatures on the scrawled, in English, “All
mini-city.Almost daily, to medical clinics. and quickly escalated into walls mock Iraqi politicians; What I want is life.”“Sitting
clashes erupt with security Saadoun Tunnel, the tuk calls to sweep aside Iraq’s other paintings praise the in front of these portraits,
forces not far away firing tuks, the square and a sectarian system imposed tuk tuks; a woman with people and candles is bet-
tear gas, live rounds and nearby 14-story Saddam after the 2003 U.S. invasion an Iraqi flag on her cheek ter than being in any cof-
stun grenades to prevent Hussein-era building on the and its entire political elite. flexes her bicep, recreat- feeshop. q

Chanel celebrates its artisans in glimmering Paris show

Associated Press set high street trends, the
PARIS (AP) — Chanel “arts and crafts” pre-col-
brought its itinerant off- lection aims at showing off
season fashion show the and celebrating the work
“arts and crafts,” with its of the artisans that are the
swath of VIPs including Pe- beating heart of Chanel,
nelope Cruz and Marion and the Paris fashion indus-
Cotillard, back to home try as a whole. Celebrating
ground in Paris on Wednes- their technical know-how is
day to mark its first collec- one way that storied Paris
tion since Karl Lagerfeld heritage houses have tried
died earlier this year. to distinguish themselves
New designer Virginie Viard in the face of increased
teamed up with film direc- competition from other
tor Sofia Coppola this sea- fashion capitals, such as
son to imagine a cinematic New York and Milan.
opus that saw the house’s The first looks, in black with
1920s Rue Cambon atelier oversized statement shoul-
replete with crystal chan- ders, were simple enough
deliers and mirrored cubist as to let the embellishments
staircase recreated under do the talking: Large silvery
the lofty roof of the Grand art-deco waist bands with
Palais exhibition space.Un- Models wear creations for Chanel’s Metiers d’Art collection presented at the Grand Palais in Paris, beading, bejeweled cuff
like the seasonal collec- Wednesday, Dec.4, 2019. bands or large geometric
tions that trickle down to Associated Press buttons with silver rims. q