The Darling Beast of Kurdistan: A Creativity Cave Crafted with Passion

By: Sazan M. Mandalawi, a facilitator, a PhD candidate in the field of education, and a passionate blogger herself focusing on culture and the creative scene in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

 

In the heart of an ever-growing capital city, Erbil, where ancient mud houses and a global trade centre are a five-minute drive from one another, on the second floor of a modern building is a studio, where a number of Kurdish women’s creativity nest is built.

I have admired Raz Xaidan’s work from far without recognising her face for a few years. Like others, I knew her only as The Darling Beast (and always wondered why).

Who is the darling Beast? I ask while turning my head in all directions, astonished with every detail of her studio. “The Darling Beast is me!” she casually replies as she fidgets into boxes to show me samples of her latest creations.

I am astonished how a modern casual clothing of a t-shirt and jeans can be dressed so chic, and sophisticated. I also recognise her various jewellery items, some from local startups. Raz shines in beauty with her dark, long, black hair, and almond shaped eyes— her presence is an artistic masterpiece of its own. She introduces herself as Swedish born to Kurdish parents; South London raised, South Kurdistan based creative working with Photography, Archiving, Digital Art, and Creative Direction.

There is a little culture in every corner of this studio. I am intrigued, inspired and remain in a daze that in this contemporary, urbane corner of the city, such a deeply rooted cultural hub exists.  All the different colours of the Hawri  (a Kurdish material, mostly seen on older Kurdish women’s clothing and scarves) are hung in one corner, boxes of stickers, brown paper and ribbon all with touches of the same Hawri design sit in different areas of this creative space. I also notice her logo in a miniature tattoo on her arm. On the inspiration board is a photo of Raz with a camera interviewing the last living Kurdish Princess. Even the table I take my notes on is one that I would pin on my Pinterest inspiration board: locally made, and I am sure painted and designed by none other than herself. The Hawri design is also there. Subtle, but it’s there on the skirt of the table.

What a risk! I think to myself. Raz has left her nine to five job to follow a passion for creativity—an industry yet to be recognised locally. I know too well, many like Raz have the talent of creativity but wither behind a desk in an office believing creativeness will not pay their bills. Raz agrees, I ask her how it is for an artistic person here, the reply is blunt “It sucks!” She gradually spends from her pot of savings for this creative pursuit, “It is hard for your art to be appreciated,” she tells me.

With creativity stems rooted abroad, Raz’s admiration and fascination for Kurdish culture and identity are deeply rooted in her upbringing. She recognises the privilege she has over other local creatives, as her audience are a hybrid of diaspora and local Kurds, “I feel I am free to create what I want, I am empowered to do so, but I don’t encourage every girl to walk in my studio to have the same approach.”

“It’s a little hub. I call my studio a cave—my safe zone as a creative. We have a coffee hour, and we yell coffee, we have meltdowns, we deal with the worst craftsmen. I made it a mission to use things by local people, and it is taking time to achieve professional, quality work.”

In her words, Raz describes her art as “provoking”, focusing on the matriarchal face, archival images and the female form. Her creative pieces proudly hang on the wall in different frames behind her table and an oversized lamp. A common theme across all of her work is a focus on the faceless female representing a lineage of women, “it is not about what we look like, but the stories we tell throughout our work,”

I recognise that the wall behind Raz is a celebration of Kurdish women. It is not just her wall, but the studio she has rented celebrates creative, local women. The studio itself is founded by Ya Khadija, also a creative young woman. Each with their own world dedicated a working space within the studio. Also joining them is a local female-founded startup that design tote bags. Raz’s creative venture provides opportunities for younger creative minds, like her two interns. Before our meeting I witnessed Raz’s tender coaching of one of her intern for an upcoming photo shoot; the studio has undoubtedly become a safe space for creatives to come together to support and motivate one another.

One of Raz’s most recent collaborations with Ya Khadija is called Rebirth. The reveal of the photoshoot shook local social media accounts. The bold, and outright depiction of women is dazzling. Raz’s fingerprint is felt in every photo. The project is a collective photoshoot setup to visually express and highlight various forms of women in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Very diverse to what Southern Kurdistan women are depicted to look like.

Talking about the re-birth project and the depiction of women, Raz passionately validates the representation of women: “Why don’t you see Zara from Pakistan, married to an Iraqi, embraced locality, and integrate into the local community? African, Iraqi, Babylonian women, every woman has her story. They all come from a part of this region that makes them so important to the discourse here— Assyrian, Chaldean, Turkman, 12 women of different backgrounds and hybrid identities are featured. They are all based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; they are here – they are on their own journey and call here home.”

The Darling Beast’s logo is rarely seen solo. The logo is always next to another logo – another local talent, creative or startup. The Darling Beast has become an icon for collaboration and introduced a new culture to startups and creatives. One of the sources of income generation for The Darling Beast is the merchandise collaborations with other startups and creatives. I see neatly stacked notebooks in Raz’s studio, t-shirt samples, and lots of sticker packages: All are speaking to the power and voice of women, to be sold online.

The Darling Beast’s name returns to a hybrid identity, emphasising two contradicting aspects: the aggressive and vulnerable, soft and hard, physical and digital art; there is always a blend of things in her work and even her personality. And of course, a creative beam of hope, in a society yet to welcome and appreciate creatives. But Raz asserts, it all comes with one’s own hard work and dedication: “When you grow up working class, you find yourself knowing that no one will give you anything.” With this thought always in mind Raz, in her studio, works every day to make a career from her creative mind and hands, in a society that is yet to recognise the creatives.

 

Copyright photos: The Darling Beast