The Pomegranate Gallery is pleased to present the exhibition “Babylonian Women: Four Californian Artists with Roots in Iraq,” on exhibit from September 6th through September 27th, 2007. The exhibition is curated by and includes artist Lidia Shaddow, and also features Halla Ayla, Joyce Dallal and Doris Bittar

“This exhibition grew from a personal search for artistic representation of the Arab culture in Los Angeles, separate from the news and the negative stigma that resonates from the word `Arab’. A view that focused on the beauty and the richness of that and echoes my upbringing. Being born to an Iraqi father in Israel of the early sixties was not something to be proud of, however, my Babylonian roots were not even an issue upon emigrating to America. Between shame and denial of ones cultural identity lays a strong need to reunite with it. In the search for that familiar voice I found these three exceptional artists.” – Lidia Shaddow, Curator

Halla Ayla is an Iraqi born American artist living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work is a synergy of mediums: photography, image transfers, encaustic as well as acrylic and water color paints. Her unique style is an alchemy of her exotic middle eastern influences and her more modern western sensibilities. She is currently working on a 7 part series of exhibits, each one featuring a different Arab region at a time: Egypt, Morocco and the most recent being on the Levant, with the intent of building bridges of peace and understanding between the two worlds: east and west. Her work has received national as well as international recognition, and has been illustrated in various mediums and publications.

Says Ayla, “My desire in this series of exhibitions on the Arab world is to reveal the unique allure, beauty and vibrancy of the region and its people. It is my hope as a carrier of these images from east to west that they will act as bridges, illuminating a greater dimension of the Arabs, their incredibly rich , ancient and colorful culture, and reveal the more poetic and enchanting aspects of this very misunderstood part of the world. My hope is that if we can somehow change our perception of people as ‘other,’ and accept and even celebrate the differences between us, then we have a chance to change the world. “

Joyce Dallal is an artist who works in a variety of media, from hand-made books and collage to photography, video, installation, and public art. The themes that surface in her artwork are those of collective and personal history, community, memory, and the evolution of contemporary cultural identity. Over the last fifteen years, her work has developed along two distinct tracks. One has been based in personal experience, involving narratives and subjects that grow from her own and her family’s history, and the other has followed subject matter related to specific sites and communities in Los Angeles; this latter track has formed the basis for her community based work and public projects in the Los Feliz and Fairfax branches of the Los Angeles Public Libraries. The two realms are connected by an interest in examining the ways cultural and ethnic identities mix, evolve, and accommodate to contemporary American culture, and in the attempt to understand, describe, and affect that interaction. Her parents are Jews who immigrated to the United States from Baghdad, Iraq and she was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. The struggle to reconcile her Jewish, Iraqi, and American identities has been a major impetus for her work, and this has only intensified in the last fifteen years since the Middle East has come to dominate the media and affect our lives.

Doris Bittar is an accomplished international visual artist whose projects include paintings, photographs and installations. Her primary focus has been on the issues of Middle Eastern history past and present, identity and the intertwined relationships between the peoples of the Middle East and those of the West. Bittar is also an activist and writer. Her endeavors focus on educating the American community about Arab culture and politics. She has tirelessly taken the seemingly incomprehensible complexities of Middle Eastern history, culture and politics and framed them into understandable concepts and narratives.

Bittar was born in Baghdad, Iraq of Lebanese parents who returned to Lebanon shortly thereafter. She immigrated to the United States from Beirut as a child. Bittar has received numerous awards, honors and recognitions; her paintings are housed in several public and private collections, and have been reviewed nationally and internationally. Bittar earned her bachelors degree at the State University of New York at Purchase and received a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of California, San Diego. Bittar’s community and conflict resolution work include serving as a board member for the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, creating and facilitating Jewish-Palestinian dialogue groups, publishing opinion pieces and making appearances on radio and television. The National Conflict Resolution Center, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and the American Civil Liberties Union have recognized Bittar’s community and artistic accomplishments.