Medium: Book, bookboard, cloth, acrylic paint.

On March 5th, 2007, a car bomb exploded on al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad. Al-Mutanabbi Street is located in a mixed Shia-Sunni area. More than 30 people were killed and more than 100 wounded. Al-Mutanabbi Street, the historic center of Baghdad bookselling, holds bookstores and outdoor bookstalls, cafes, stationery shops, and even tea and tobacco shops. It has been the longstanding heart and soul of the Baghdad literary and intellectual community for centuries. In response to the attack, a San Francisco poet and bookseller, Beau Beausoleil, rallied a community of international artists and writers to produce a collection of letterpress-printed broadsides (poster-like works on paper), artists' books (unique works of art in book form), and an anthology of writing, all focused on expressing solidarity with Iraqi booksellers, writers and readers. The coalition of contributing artists calls itself Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Coalition.

Gift; Beau Beausoleil; 2019-2020.

"Although my early years were spent in mathematics, computing, graphics and the print industry, a life-changing experience at age 40 prompted me to follow my heart, and I took courses at the art schools at TAFE and Curtin University. While still influenced by my pre-art school experiences, my art work is primarily a personal reflection on modern landscape, while raising larger philosophical questions. My work has been included in local, national and international exhibitions, and I have also participated in many collaborative projects"--Artist's statement from the artist's website (viewed July 31, 2015).