Khalid Izatt

(Artist's Collection - sculpture by Khalid Izatt)

"I was given a tour of Baghdad by Mr. Khalid and when we came to Firdos Square - he stopped and stood in the same pose as the Saddam sculpture. He was very proud of his work: to be chosen to depict the leader of his country - despite any negative feelings he may or may not have had about Saddam. There was no question of the pride in his work.

"Mr. Khalid was in charge of my peace sculpture at the foundry. He also worked on his own creations which were cast in broze at the foundry. Some of his works would depict the naked female form. In art, the human figure in any form is often avoided and frowned upon in the Arab world. Iraq has a very strong and broad minded view of art and for that reason people came from all over the Middle East to purchase this type of work."

- Deryk