Hala Alsalman, Baghdad, digital photo collage, 24 x 18 in, 2023
They Stole Our Eyes (But We Still See)
Hala Alsalman
A Space Windows
May 22 – July 11, 2026
Have you ever seen ancient Mesopotamian eye inlays at a museum? They stare back at you in a permanent expression of horror, separated from their sculptural bodies, speaking to a larger, systematic disembodiment levied by Empire.
They Stole Our Eyes (But We Still See) is an ongoing investigative project that traces the provenance of eye inlays to bring attention to the illicit trade of Mesopotamian antiquities, enabled by a nefarious web of thieves, private collectors, auction houses, and museums. The organized looting of national museum of Iraq during the Anglo-American invasion in April 2003 became a turning point that led to the repatriation of some artifacts in recent years, but many remain missing.
The first iteration of this project debuted at OCAD University on the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War. This exhibition at A Space Gallery displays Hala’s process in research, and mediums featuring ceramic sculptures, free-use archival documentation, and her own photography in Iraq.
Biography
Hala Alsalman is an Iraqi-Canadian multidisciplinary artist with a background in journalism and filmmaking. Her research-creation practice is grounded in questioning gender relations, political power, and history-making through collage, ceramics, and video. In 2022, she was awarded a SSHRC scholarship to pursue her MFA at OCAD University and her work has since been shown at Pleasure Dome, the Czong Institute for Contemporary Art, Everything Gallery, and Art-Windsor Essex. Hala is currently developing a new project that has been funded by the Canada Council for the Arts. www.halaalsalman.com