Facing the waves: how Shorsh Saleh found power to share his story through art

‘The first time I saw the sea, it was not for a holiday,’ says Shorsh Saleh. ‘It was in the night time, very dark, with a lot of fear.’

Saleh is a Kurdish artist. In 2001 he fled his homeland in Iraq and made his way across the Middle East and Europe. After waiting for eight years, he was finally granted asylum in the UK.

The work Crossing Border recalls his experience of crossing the Mediterranean Sea by boat. The work is inspired by Indo-Persian miniature painting, and depicts a small paper boat literally ‘crossing’ out of a scene of turbulent seas into a calm space beyond the painting’s border.

‘When I look at the artwork I just don’t see a painting: I see a story,’ Saleh says. ‘Traditionally when you look at miniature painting, [they were] made to illustrate books to tell the story of the kings and all this. With my art, I try to use miniature painting to tell the story of myself and of those people who experience the same journeys.’

Watch the interview below to learn more about Saleh’s journey as an artist. 

Crossing Border was acquired by Royal Museums Greenwich in 2025, and is now on display in the Queen’s House as part of a new display of artworks that reflect on the experience of migration by sea.

‘People are still crossing borders, people are still running from atrocity,’ Saleh says. ‘Art is a very “soft” tool to change society, but at least in a level of emotion it has a lot of effect.’

Crossing Border will be on display at the Queen’s House throughout 2026: plan your free visit here.