Ayad Alkadhi

The elegance of Arabic calligraphy in its stylised variety is employed by Iraqi artist Ayad Alkadi in artwork tackling social and political matters facing present-day Iraq and the wider Middle East. Following an upbringing that spanned Iraq, Britain and the UAE, Baghdad-born Alkadi often reflects on divisions between East and West in his work. According to an official description, this triptych "serves to emphasise the importance of custom, tradition, social reform as well as religion, in creating a code so coherent and interdependent that it has become almost impossible to contemplate the veil without all of the elements that have had a part in its creation."

Alkadhi, born in 1971, has exhibited in the Middle East, New Zealand, Europe and the United States, where he currently lives.