Rifat Chadirji’s architecture was always an unconscious part of my Iraqi travelogues. As his homeland became a part of my inner and outer world over three decades of documenting pre- and post-invasion culture and society, so did his buildings. Back home in Vancouver, how could I conjure memories of Baghdad without visualizing his Central Post Office? The 1972 classic was looted and damaged after the ill-fated invasion in 2003, but still stands tall as a battle-scarred modernist relic. Or the phantom of his elegant Arch of Ctesiphon– inspired Monument to the Unknown Soldier in Firdos Square, replaced in the early 1980s (as Chadirji photographed its demise) with a statue of Saddam—one that would become a symbol of the This story is from Kinfolk Issue Forty-Seven Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 48 Cliff Tan Four questions for a feng shui guru. Arts & Culture Issue 48 Cult Rooms After “completing” philosophy, Ludwig Wittgenstein tried—and failed—at architecture. Arts & Culture Issue 48 Peer Review Artist William Cobbing on painter, publisher—and family friend—Franciszka Themerson. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Draw the Line A short history of linear architecture. Arts & Culture Issue 47 CULT ROOMS In north Lebanon, two architects are rebuilding a corner of Oscar Niemeyer’s international fair. Arts & Culture Issue 46 Peer Review Upcycle designer Laurs Kemp on the influence of mid-century salvage artist Louise Nevelson.
Arts & Culture Issue 48 Cult Rooms After “completing” philosophy, Ludwig Wittgenstein tried—and failed—at architecture.
Arts & Culture Issue 48 Peer Review Artist William Cobbing on painter, publisher—and family friend—Franciszka Themerson.
Arts & Culture Issue 47 CULT ROOMS In north Lebanon, two architects are rebuilding a corner of Oscar Niemeyer’s international fair.
Arts & Culture Issue 46 Peer Review Upcycle designer Laurs Kemp on the influence of mid-century salvage artist Louise Nevelson.
