Singing Slave Girls - 2012
Girl Slave Singers depicts a woman curled in a fetal position at the center of an octagonal frame, surrounded by floral patterning and Kufic Arabic calligraphy. The text quotes a lyric improvised by a young singer in early Islamic Medina: “Tell me, both of you—Is it ok if I have fun?”Three enslaved girl singers in Medina were making music, and entertaining one another when their righteous master unexpectedly returned home. Startled, they fell silent—until he smiled and left them to their joy. The moment, brief yet revealing, captures the tension between fear and freedom and the delicate space in which women's creativity persisted.
Singing Slave Girls– 2012 – screen print on fabric – 20 x 18 in – edition of 16 (variable prints)
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Singing Slave Girls– 2012 – screen print with henna on silk – 20 x 18 in – edition of 4
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The original version of this image was created in 2003 under the title I Want to Have Fun, a screenprint with henna on dyed fabric (edition of 7, variable prints). In 2012, the work was remade as an 18 × 20 in – silk‑screen with henna and ink on cotton, edition of 16, each print featuring a unique color combination. Across both versions, the piece reflects on women's desire, playfulness, and the enduring power of improvised female voice.
I Want to Have Fun – 2003, screenprint with henna on dyed fabric, edition of 7 (variable prints).
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Singing Slave Girls– 2012 – screen print on fabric – 20 x 18 in
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Girl Slave Singers – 2012, screenprint with henna and ink on cotton, edition of 16 ( variable prints).
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