Hour Al-Azim Buffaloes
BY PAEEZ
Buffaloes of Hoor al-Azim explores the intertwined lives of people, buffaloes, and the wetland they inhabit. The series grew out of my encounter with these animals and addresses threats to the wetland ecosystem, the survival of its buffaloes, and the lives and livelihoods of local communities. Through layers of paint, scratches, and dispersed marks, bodies and landscapes become carriers of memory, change, and damage. The paintings reflect on ecological loss and the possibility of disappearance, revealing how the futures of the wetland, its animals, and its people are inseparable.
WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES AND FEARS AS A YOUNG PERSON IN A TIME OF ECOLOGICAL CRISIS?
My hope is that we recognize the shared futures of people, animals, and the environments they inhabit, and listen to communities living closest to ecological loss. Through my paintings of Hoor al-Azim, I hope to encourage care and action. My fear is that destruction becomes familiar and we respond too late, losing the wetland, its buffaloes, and the livelihoods, memories, and cultural practices connected to them.