Lahib Jaddo

Lahib Jaddo is an Iraqi-born artist based in Texas who has worked across the mediums of painting and sculpture for over three decades. Lahib was born in Baghdad in 1955 to Turkmani parents from Kirkuk and Tel-Afar. The first of five siblings, she spent her formative years in Iraq and Lebanon before immigrating to the US in 1976.

She eventually settled in Lubbock, Texas, where she earned a Master of Architecture and Master of Fine Arts at Texas Tech University. She began her studio practice in 1990 and went on to teach for twenty years in the College of Architecture at Texas Tech University.

Jaddo’s work initially focused on painting, but gradually shifted to mixed media and sculpture. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally and is the subject of the award-winning feature-length film, Jaddoland.

“Remembering the women in my family are at the center of this work. I draw from my memories of their movements, language, and clothing. I tell stories about their lives. Some of these stories reimagine the past, others dream of a future. Through painting, I remember the landscapes that held us. Through sculpture and abstraction, their bodies take on new and inspiring forms. Ultimately, I created these works to give me a sense of peace and inspiration in a world that seems currently difficult.” - Jaddo