House of Memory / بيت الذاكرة by Basil Al-Rawi

House of Memory / بيت الذاكرة is an immersive Virtual Reality experience by artist Basil Al-Rawi. Based on photographs and oral testimonies from the Iraq Photo Archive, he transforms archival material into a virtual space where memories can be revisited and explored. 

In this 15-minute experience, you encounter personal stories of Iraq in the 1970s, as remembered by those who lived there. Through voices and images, Iraq emerges as a space of cultural richness and everyday life, shaped by memory and displacement of its people. The work offers a rare perspective on Iraqi history and diaspora experience.  

Basil Al-Rawi works across photography, moving images, sculpture and digital technologies, exploring memory, identity and archival storytelling. The project was developed as part of his PhD research at the Glasgow School of Art. 

House of Memory is part of Ireland’s cultural programme for the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Iraq Photo Archive Contributors: Zena Abbas, Mais Al Aloosi, Ahmed Al-Bayati, Betool Al Fekaiki, Dalia Al-Dujaili, Farid Al-Haddad, Vivian Al Haddad, Al-Rawi Family, Tamara Alattiya, Sarah Almukhtar, Maissa El-Hassany, Reem El-Hassany, Abdulkarem Hamza, Ahmed Kahatab, Rasha Kamaliddin, Helen Massoud, Idris Jassim Al-Oboudi, Shathel Nawaf Taqa, Ayah Wafi, Kifah Wafi, Muafaq Wafi. 

A ticket for the exhibitions of William Kentridge, Jean Brusselmans, Edith Dekyndt x Cristóbal Balenciaga or Central. Never Alone gives you free access to the exhibition House of Memory / بيت الذاكرة by Basil Al-Rawi on the same day.