Ahmed Al-Bahrani

Ahmed Abbas Al-Bahrani is an Iraqi artist and sculptor who has lived in Qatar since 1999 and is a graduate of Baghdad’s Institute of Fine Arts. A pioneer of sculpture in Qatar, he created works including the Olympic Rings and the Arabian Gulf Cup trophy.

He was born in Tuwayraj, a place overlooking the Euphrates and combining the character of a village with the life of a town. He grew up in modest circumstances, the third of nine siblings, with a father in salaried employment and a mother who managed the home. Despite the limits of his income, their father insisted that every child receive an education and encouraged them to complete university study.

His birthplace combined agriculture and industry, and the Euphrates nurtured his love of beauty and nature. The wider community valued art in many forms. His father loved classical Iraqi music and knew popular Iraqi singers, introducing he particularly to the music of southern Iraq and helping refine his artistic taste. His mother sang hymns, songs and Iraqi children’s folk tunes to the family; her gentle voice accompanied him throughout childhood and youth. Agriculture, palms, birds and river together bound him to his town and imprinted its details on both imagination and character.

He regards the clay figures he made on the banks of the Euphrates at the age of six as his first art exhibition. He shaped scenes from the place and the people around him, often soiling his clothes in the process. When his father unexpectedly returned early one day, the child expected punishment; instead, his father admired the figures and encouraged his artistic interest. The next day, he found that the river’s tide had erased them. He later described the Euphrates as the first admirer—and first collector—of his work.

He studied for six years at Baghdad’s Institute of Fine Arts before entering military service and experiencing a war that profoundly affected his life and outlook. He left Iraq in mid-1994, but Baghdad remained central to his artistic formation. Its beauty and architecture had fascinated him, as they did many young Iraqis who dreamed of visiting the capital. At the Institute, leading teachers of visual art helped him acquire the discipline and techniques on which his later career was built.

Amman was his first destination outside Iraq, and he spent nine difficult months there before moving to Yemen for four and a half years. Despite demanding circumstances, he came to love Yemen’s lively social world and learned from its varied landscape, architecture, celebrations, clothing and customs. In 1999, he moved to Qatar, a decisive change made possible by His Excellency Ambassador Abdullah Fadl Al Khater, then Qatar’s Ambassador to Yemen. They had met by chance during the Qatari Embassy’s National Day celebration, when he presented an artwork depicting joined hands. A warm personal relationship followed. The Ambassador suggested that he live in Qatar; he replied that he knew little about the country beyond a few artistic and sporting figures, so Al Khater invited him to visit Doha and explore its possibilities. He left his family temporarily in Yemen and travelled to Qatar.

During his first six months in Qatar, he felt unsettled and bored. Joining the Doha Youth Centre, home to a number of the country’s leading artists, began his attachment to the city. Sculpture was then uncommon, and he quickly formed relationships with the Centre’s young members, who invited him to teach a course in plaster and wood sculpture. That course launched his Qatari career. He also met Hassan Al-Mulla, head of the Fine Arts Association in Al Bidda Park, and through the Association came to know first-generation Qatari visual artists. He developed close friendships with many, including some who, like him, had studied in Baghdad.

They regarded Baghdad as a shared artistic school. He met Salman Al-Malik and Ali Hassan and renewed his relationship with Yousef Ahmad, whom he had known during his student years in Baghdad. Those relationships and the artistic community persuaded him to remain after he had initially considered leaving because Qatar had little established sculpture beyond a few individual experiments. Doha’s calm and stability, the beauty of Qatari culture and the warmth Qataris showed towards Iraqis also encouraged him to settle.

He entered Qatari society quickly and became part of its cultural landscape. In 2000, he held both his first solo sculpture exhibition and Qatar’s first exhibition devoted entirely to the medium; earlier presentations had included only individual sculptural pieces. Further appearances followed, and he played an important role in spreading a culture of sculpture. Twenty-three years in Qatar allowed him to establish a fully equipped studio of his own, supported by strong moral encouragement.

The state recognised his contribution and adopted several significant projects. The Olympic Rings, commissioned in 2004 by His Highness Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, became the largest sculptural work in the Gulf and wider Arab world. He was then entrusted with the Arabian Gulf Cup trophy, one of the most important works of his career. Although physically smaller, the trophy secured him a significant place in sporting, social and cultural circles.

Moving to Qatar was the most consequential decision of his personal and artistic life, followed by further defining encounters. Architect Hazem Abu Naba’a encouraged him to settle because of the opportunities available, and he met His Highness Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani for the first time. Other important figures included Omar Al Fardan; His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani; Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani; Ali Bin Ali; Nabil bin Ali; and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, with whom he collaborated on an important Qatar Foundation project at Hamad College of the Arts.

Everyone he encountered offered support believed in his ability and contributed to his success, sometimes through no more than a smile or a kind word.

He takes pride in his work and feels at peace with what he achieved. His first aim is to please God—glory be to Him—and satisfy his own conscience. Secure in the path he has chosen, he does not dwell on what others say or conceal, and he resists negative criticism and discouragement. He remains optimistic, seeks the positive in every situation, believes in his work and strives to perform it perfectly.

Being forced to leave his home country created serious challenges at the beginning of his career and threatened his creative commitment. Determination, his father’s continuing encouragement and the patience of his wife enabled him to continue. He regards his wife’s resilience and companionship as a major part of his success.

Emigration and separation from his village and the country he loved were the most difficult tests of his life. He had not planned to leave Iraq and departed under pressure, making exile both harmful and beneficial. In the countries through which he passed, generous people extended their hands and helped him climb towards success. The places that welcomed him eased the pain of distance from home.

Exile remains for him a mixture of pride, pain and longing. It forced him to mature quickly, and the years passed before he felt that he had enjoyed his youth. His wife endured those circumstances beside him, particularly when returning to Iraq was difficult in the 1990s. Daily setbacks and obstacles in art only deepened the pleasure he found in achievement and success.

His ability to transform pain into hope helped him overcome obstacles. He treats every setback as experience and an opportunity to learn, looks consistently at the fuller half of the glass and chooses the harder path when it promises a better result, even if success takes longer.

Working with hard, sharp materials such as bronze and iron reinforced the strength of his character. At the same time, his personality left an imprint on every material touched by his hands.

Behind his visible strength and confidence is a deeply sensitive person, particularly in the face of human suffering. He shares the pain of each humanitarian situation and carries the concerns of Iraq and the wider Arab world into his art. His warmth has also created strong relationships with people of many nationalities and ages, earning broad affection and respect.

After years of exile, he re-established a foothold in Iraq and laid the groundwork for a greater presence in his homeland, having recognised his influence on the public and his country’s need for both his art and his contribution.