While Iraq was deprived from most types of freedom, the Monument of Freedom “resulted in an argument between Salim and the President. Jewad...felt strongly that art should represent the people rather than political events.” (Bonhams). Art is a piece of beauty that is meant to relieve the soul. This particular mural represents the Iraqi people and their efforts to win freedom. Selim suffered a heart attack because of pressure to finish the sculpture and passed away (Bonhams). After Selim’s death, he conveys a sense of responsibility to the Iraqi people to continue the process of obtaining freedom. Whenever there is a protest in Iraq, the Iraqis usually gather around the Tahrir Square and under the Monument of Freedom specifically. Iraqis are proud of The Monument of Freedom because it strengthens them.
Many different emotions are found throughout the sculpture. On one part of the sculpture there is a woman that is crying over her son who was a martyr in the revolution. The woman is located by men which represents her role in the 1958 revolution. She sits on the floor with her abaya, which is usually a long, black fabric (Freedom Monument) The color black depicts sadness and despair. These emotions indicate the anguish of the Iraqi people for not having their inalienable right of freedom. At the first stage of the relief sculpture, there is an angered horse that is pulling his reigns because some people are holding him from moving. The horse symbolizes genuinity, self-esteem, and strength (Horse Symbol Meaning). A horse does not accept slavery and this indicates that everyone deserves freedom. There is no horseman on the top of the horse meaning that there is no one to control a strong, well-determined, powerful animal (Isaac). Jewad specifically started with the horse instead of a different animal, because the horse symbolizes freedom. The horse does not let anyone limit his freedom by challenging the figures in front of him and orienting his head to the left side, the future side. The desire for freedom is well illustrated in this specific figure. Furthermore, in the middle of the piece, there is a soldier who is surrounded by prison bars who Jewad referred to as "the people's fighter for freedom from oppression" (Isaac). This is the meaning of the resistance: the soldier with a fierce power leads himself in a way that does not care about pain or death in order to reach freedom. The prisoner behind him breaks the bars and moves to the left with large steps, crunching the guards of the prison (Freedom Monument). The artist gives examples to the Iraqi people that sometimes torture can happen to gain freedom. Both the figures of the horse and the freed soldier indicate the desire of freedom. Between the first figures, there is a baby whose hands are raised up in a blessing gesture. The artist makes this baby the only three dimensional piece in the whole painting, representing his love for children (Isaac). Because this is the only three dimensional piece, it contrasts all of the other images and sticks out. The lifted hands represent the blessing the baby gives to the people who fight for liberty and equality. The infant shows a new life, a pure and a peaceful one. In this specific panel, we find how the