Through the Lens: Latif Al Ani's Visions of Ancient Iraq

A beautifully illustrated exploration of how Latif Al Ani’s photographs and contemporary Iraqi artists continue to challenge the colonial appropriation of Iraq’s ancient past

Beginning in the early nineteenth century, Mesopotamian and early Islamic ruins became the focus of many Western colonial expeditions. These missions, which routinely dismissed the role and knowledge of local communities, came to shape the historical narrative of ancient civilizations and modern people. In Iraq, home to...