Monkith Saaid (1959-2008) was one of the most distinct Iraqi/Dutch/Syrian sculptors of his generation. After he had fled Iraq in 1978 to escape political persecution in Iraq, he studied sculpture in the Fine Arts College in Damascus. After his graduation he went to Libya where he worked as a university lecturer. A few years later he went to the Netherlands, where he was granted political asylum. He graduated at the renowned Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and became a successful sculptor, having exhibitions not only in Holland, but also in other European countries. Yet, Monkith continued to feel drawn to Syria and at the end of the 90s, at the peak of his artistic career in Europe, he went back to Damascus.