Shakir Hassan Al-Said (1925-2004) was a prominent Iraqi painter, sculptor, writer and art critic. Born in Samawah, between Baghdad and Basra, he studied in the capital’s Institute of Fine Arts under the tutorship of Jawad Salim then at the Beaux-Arts de Paris. In 1951, Shakir Hassan Al-Said and Jawad Salim founded “Jama’et Baghdad lil Fann al-Hadith” (The Baghdad Modern Art Group). The group’s manifesto expressed an intention to go towards a new artistic trend that would reconnect with the tradition of 13th-century painting. In 1971, Al-Said founded a new movement, “Al Bu’d al Wahad” (One Dimension Group) that was more deeply integrated into Sufi roots and aimed to distance itself from Western art. 

After being sent to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to teach painting, he developed a profound interest in walls particularly on the accidental traces that lie on their surfaces. With all its cracks, marks and graffiti, the wall becomes for Al-Said, a mirror of his reality, a static plan with a dynamic reflection of his surroundings.

More than 10 years after painting Drop of Ink (lot no. 19), Shakir Hassan Al-Said was still pursuing his work on unintentional traces and marks left on diverse surfaces. 

On his canvas, the artist tries to simulate these visual effects induced by unintended experiences and the erosion of time. His paintings represent the walls as they are found in streets and alleys of cities.   

Mural Streaks is part of the series Walls, implementing the concept of Erosion and Accumulation and was referred to in several articles and lectures made by the artist regarding this concept.