In her three works Untitled, 2000, British-born Iraqi artist Lorna Selim depicts stylized figures standing in parallel columns. The figures' garments and head coverings are adorned with folds that resemble crescents. The bodies, immobilized within the rigid columns, are composed of geometric forms filled with patterns reflecting traditional garments, such as veils, abayas, and dishdashas, grounding the figures in cultural identity while highlighting Selim’s modernist aesthetic. Throughout her works, Selim’s color palette remained deeply connected to the earthy tones of Baghdad’s landscape, while architectural arches reminiscent of traditional Baghdadi structures frame her figures.

Lorna Selim played an important role in the development of Iraqi modernist art. After marrying renowned Iraqi sculptor Jewad Selim in 1950, she moved from England to Baghdad, where she became a key member of the Baghdad Group for Modern Art (1951). This group was instrumental in promoting modern art in Iraq by blending ancient Mesopotamian and traditional Iraqi cultural elements with contemporary techniques in order to create a new visual language that reflected both Iraq's rich heritage and the evolving global artistic trends of the time.

Though influenced by her husband's work, Selim developed her own distinctive artistic voice. The aforementioned crescent shape, for instance, was a motif that echoed in the works of both Lorna and Jewad Selim’s work. Unlike her husband, her process often relied on a visual reference which she would first sketch, then flesh out carefully. Many of her works often depicted Iraqi women going about their daily lives. With time, her own voice developed through her contact with the Baghdadi milieu. One such element is her use of a limited palette, and particularly the incorporation of the ochres and browns, as seen in two of the Untitled, 2000 pieces, which reflected the Iraqi environment that Selim adored. 

During the 1960s, after the passing of her husband, Selim began sketching and painting the traditional Iraqi houses which were in the process of being demolished by the government to make room for modern buildings. These architectural drawings, painted with an earthy color palette and featuring the minute details and intricate designs of the residential buildings and houses that made up the social fabric of Baghdadi culture, document a now lost heritage. Selim’s fascination with the architecture of Baghdad is paralleled within the style in her Untitled works, especially in the parallel grids which confine her subjects.

Although she struggled with the language in the beginning, Selim taught drawing at the Architecture Department of the Women’s College for six years during the 1960s. She would return to England at the end of the decade, but continued to create art related to and referencing Baghdad until the end. Selim deserves recognition as one of Iraq’s foremost modern artists for the work she has done in developing modern Iraqi art, and her contributions to the preservation of Iraqi heritage.

Signed in Arabic on each piece lower left side except middle piece signed and dated 2000 in Arabic