Back to index of Nerve 12 - Summer 2008

Artist Profile - Irfan Ali

By Colin Serjent

Irfan, who arrived in England from Iraq in 2007, specialises in creating pottery -,just like his mother - with them often being used for practical purposes, for example, to keep water cool.

A problem he has faced since coming here is that there are no suitable facilities for making the types of pottery he made in Iraq.

“If I had the use of these facilities here I would produce more pottery and have them shown in an exhibition,” Irfan remarked.

As well as pottery he produces pencil sketches and drawings. “I depict, in an abstract way, my feelings about coming to England and how people in Immigration Control reacted to my being here.”

One striking pencil drawing shows a snake in a scales of justice illustration, representing a hostile Home Office, placed on top of a mass of human skulls, representing those who have been killed in wars.

“When I go to the Home Office, it always leaves me with a bad feeling, because there is little to celebrate” he said.

Aged 17, he faces the possibility of deportation back to Iraq, even more so when he officially becomes an adult when he turns 18-years-of age.

“Even in the small room I am living in I am still able to create my artwork, physically and mentally,” he stated, “devising ideas for possible future artwork. I will continue my art until I die.”

Irfan would like to thank various people, including migrant support workers in Liverpool, and also BedSpace, an organisation, based in Warrington, which supports immigrants and refugees.