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From left: Waleed Hamoto, Malak Mukhtar, and their son Ali Sher performing in their home on July 12, 2024. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish family who moved to Denmark ten years ago has packed their household with various forms of art.
Malak Mukhtar left the Kurdish city of Afrin in northern Syria and moved to Denmark ten years ago alongside her husband Waleed Hamoto. She is a singer and a painter, and both her husband and son play musical instruments while she sings.
“I have opened many exhibitions. My first one was in Denmark and the second was in Germany, in many cities such as Stuttgart, Hamburg, and Bonn. After that, I opened an exhibition in Strasbourg Museum in France, and I then went to Sulaimani in Kurdistan to open an exhibition there,” Mukhtar told Rudaw on Friday, adding that she discovered herself through arts.
She said that she has been working on a new project called “The Universes of Malak Mukhtar,” explaining that she views her paintings as her own universes and brings her visions to life through art.
“I am often asked why gray dominates my paintings, but this is a reflection of the life I live in. I live in Denmark. Here, my colors are gray, everything is frozen and I even see the trees as black,” she said, stressing that the Danish environment plays a big role in her paintings and expressions.
Mukhtar uses both water and oil for her paintings but said that she prefers oil-based paintings.
“We have been living together with Malak for 25 years and we are hand in hand. I support her and she supports me in my music career. I am active here, and I support and assist Malak in opening her exhibitions. We are proud together,” said her husband Hamoto.
Together with their son Ali Sher, Hamoto said that they are all “souls in the same house” who found purpose with music and art.
“I grew up in a time of music. My parents encouraged me and taught me a lot. My father supported me materially and spiritually as a teacher to learn music academically, as did my mother, so they influenced me a lot. When we come home, we drop everything together and sing, play musical instruments, and create a good atmosphere,” Sher said.
Hemn Abdulla contributed to this article.
Malak Mukhtar left the Kurdish city of Afrin in northern Syria and moved to Denmark ten years ago alongside her husband Waleed Hamoto. She is a singer and a painter, and both her husband and son play musical instruments while she sings.
“I have opened many exhibitions. My first one was in Denmark and the second was in Germany, in many cities such as Stuttgart, Hamburg, and Bonn. After that, I opened an exhibition in Strasbourg Museum in France, and I then went to Sulaimani in Kurdistan to open an exhibition there,” Mukhtar told Rudaw on Friday, adding that she discovered herself through arts.
She said that she has been working on a new project called “The Universes of Malak Mukhtar,” explaining that she views her paintings as her own universes and brings her visions to life through art.
“I am often asked why gray dominates my paintings, but this is a reflection of the life I live in. I live in Denmark. Here, my colors are gray, everything is frozen and I even see the trees as black,” she said, stressing that the Danish environment plays a big role in her paintings and expressions.
Mukhtar uses both water and oil for her paintings but said that she prefers oil-based paintings.
“We have been living together with Malak for 25 years and we are hand in hand. I support her and she supports me in my music career. I am active here, and I support and assist Malak in opening her exhibitions. We are proud together,” said her husband Hamoto.
Together with their son Ali Sher, Hamoto said that they are all “souls in the same house” who found purpose with music and art.
“I grew up in a time of music. My parents encouraged me and taught me a lot. My father supported me materially and spiritually as a teacher to learn music academically, as did my mother, so they influenced me a lot. When we come home, we drop everything together and sing, play musical instruments, and create a good atmosphere,” Sher said.
Hemn Abdulla contributed to this article.
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