Alia Farid: Chibayish 

Floor 3, Theater

Alia Farid’s recent work examines how nature in southern Iraq has been viewed as both an accomplice and harborer of political resistance. Filmed at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Chibayish (2022) records the artist’s interactions with three young marshland residents: Riad Samir and Jassim and Qassim Mohammed. It includes footage of them caring for a water buffalo, describing their geography, naming members of the community, and traversing a marsh engulfed by oil infrastructure and industrial waste. Chibayish is part of a larger group of works that Farid has developed since 2018 focused on the impact of extractive industries on southern Iraq and Kuwait's ecological and social fabric. Like her installation Palm Orchard (2022), also on view at the Whitney, Chibayish is an exploration of cultural identity, history, colonialism, and the right to remain.   

Filmed in the southern marshlands of Iraq with Riad Samir and Jassim and Qassim Mohammed. Thank you Hassan Alaydani and Hussein Alasadi DoP and co-editor Muhammed Al Mubarak.

Sound mastering: Joel Rodrigue

Color grading: Belal Hibri