Dzama's narrative drawings fuse the visual language of fairy–tale illustrations with violent iconography like that of eighteenth–century artists Francisco de Goya and William Blake. His images show children, adults, animals, and uncanny hybrids, often involved in violent activities. Dzama's work has at times pointed to the cruelties connected to the contemporary conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Underground makes reference to the capture of Saddam Hussein, contrasting a long row of soldiers with the small hole in which Iraq's former leader stands. As is often the case with Dzama’s drawings, this watercolor asks viewers to question designations such as good and evil, liberator and oppressor, cost and benefit.
Gallery label from Compass in Hand: Selections from The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection, April 22, 2009–January 4, 2010.
