Charles Saatchi goes back to Iraq

London art impresario Charles Saatchi is returning to his roots: the former advertising tycoon, who was born to an Iraqi Jewish family in Baghdad before moving with his parents to Britain when he was four, has been buying up paintings by 15 artists from Iraq, Iran and Syria. Says Saatchi: "Some of this Middle East art is witty, some of it is hair-raising, and the best works are as harp as a scalpel."

Saatchi, whose former proteges include Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, plans to exhibit the work at his new gallery opening this week at the former Duke of York's barracks off the King's Road, once the debut show of Chinese art has concluded.

One of the refugee artists from Iraq he has been buying is Ahmed Alsoudani, who in 1995 fled Saddam's regime to Syria, and from there moved to the United States. A charcoal by Alsoudani called We Die Out of Hand is largely drawn from his conversations with family members who stayed on in Iraq after the 2003 invasion.

"Living with the war minute by minute is a struggle and a daily issue," says Alsoudani. "Most of my work deals with the war . . . It is hard to step away from it. I'm not interested in showing blood, but I am interested in capturing that moment before and after the attack - that line between life and death."

In Iran, Saatchi was drawn to the work of two brothers, Rokni and Ramin Haerizadeh, who live in Tehran. "I cannot show some of my art, at least on public show, here because it contains nudity and sexuality," said Rokni 30." There are restrictions, but I can show some of this type of art privately or underground, which is what I do."

Rokni's paintings now in the Saatchi collection reflect Iranian social life, including weddings and beach scenes. His brother Ramin's works are more sexual, showing a figure, based on the artist himself, in explicit or unusual poses.