Mohammed Sami was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1984, where he witnessed first-hand the Iran-Iraq conflict, the Gulf War and US invasion. After completing studies in drawing and painting at the Institute of Fine Arts, Baghdad in 2005, Sami immigrated to Sweden. Sami went on to graduate from the Belfast School of Art in 2015 and earned an MFA at Goldsmiths College, London, in 2018. Sami currently lives and works in London.

In his paintings, Sami renders haunting and semi-abstract autobiographical scenes that unfold belated memories, obliquely exploring the dynamics of war, memory and loss.  Ashfall I (2022) depicts a landscape of traditional Iraqi architecture made of stone or concrete under a darkened sky. The extreme side lighting and specks in the air suggest the moment after an explosion or during a fire, as light ash diffuses from a distance. Devoid of figures or any sense of movement typical of news images coming from the Gulf War, Sami's uncanny landscape reclaims the power of representation through his recollections and underscores the complicated process of memory through conflict.