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Fatimah Abu Gahas: The Last Master of Qutt 2015 Screen printing. Ink on paper. 18 x 24 inches - 46 x 60 cm Edition: 25 Died in 2010, this folk artist and native of Asir in Saudi Arabia, had left a rich collection of the traditional women’s art of Qutt characteristic of Asir. In this print I made a portrait of Abu Gahas in the middle of colorful shapes that imitate her style. |
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Arabian Mandala - 8
2014 Screen printing. Ink on paper. 16 x 16 inches - 40 x 40 cm Edition: 7 Starting from the peripheries towards the center, elements of drawing are repeated here four times along the four orientations of the paper. This is influenced by Jung collections of mandalas which he used as keys to the psyche. |
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Facebook-1
2013 Screen printing. Ink on paper. 40 x46 inches - 102 x 117 cm Edition: 3 The woman facing the viewer is wearing an Abaya (Arabian cloak) and sitting on a rug woven in the Bedouin style. Within a background of checkered pattern characteristic of Arabian men's headdress, she is writing her story as an Arabic poem addressing her people in second person as her audience. More of this series Facebook Project |
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The Secret 2013 Screen printing on paper. 38 x 42 inches - 96 x 107 cm Edition: 7 In a background of checkered pattern of Saudi men’s headdress, two women smile at us under a flowery curtain. From their hands flows a swirl of pink henna pattern within gold background. Celebrating beauty is their way to defy oppression. |
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Girls Of Medina 2013 Polymer printing on paper 5 x 7 inches - 13 x 18 cm Edition: 35 This is a one page of a book of 29 prints made by 29 artists titled “Lunation: 29 days of darkness and light”. It is a book of prints about the relationship between humans and the cosmos with a focus on what it means to be female and experience the rhythm of the lunar cycle. Each page describes one station of the moon. This one represents the full moon. It portrays Prophet Muhammed’s monumental trip from Mecca to Medina which commenced the Islamic lunar calendar. When Muhammed reached the outskirts of Medina, its girls and young women ran to meet him drumming and singing their famous song: “The Full Moon Has Risen Upon Us” |
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Her Days
2012 Screen printing on fabric 20 x 27 inches - 53 x 68 cm Edition: 49 variable prints I am, by God, fit for honorable glory ...... And I am going my way with pride My lover I offer the curve of my cheek ..... And bestow my kiss on whoever craves it These are the lyrics said by princess Walladah bentul-Mustakfi, the Poetess of Cordoba and Andalusia. She lived in Cordoba, Spain, during its most sophisticated and tolerant period. Cordoba under the Arabs housed one of the great libraries of the world. At one time it included scholarly women on its staff. In this relaxed atmosphere Walladah cast off the veil and operated a salon for writers and artists. Walladah had many lovers, some were women, but never married. Only a few lines of Walladah's poetry remain. Yet she is considered one of the most important female poets of the era. More of this series. |
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Girls Slave Singers
2012 Screen printing on fabric 18 x 20 inches - 46 x 52 cm. Edition: 16 variable prints The Arabic words are a lyric saying: Tell me, both of you Is it ok if I had some fun? The story behind this image goes like this: In the 3rd century, in the holy city of Medina in early Islam, three slave girls singers were playing music, singing and improvising together. One of them improvised the above lyric when her righteous master suddenly returned home. They stopped singing and were frightened for a moment then their master smiled and left. This is a remake of my previous (I want to have fun in 2003). More of this sereis |
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Leili's Rug
2012 Screen printing on brown paper 32 x 32 inches - 81 x 81 cm. Edition: 1 This is an experiment of rotating screen printing. This is one screen rotated at 90 degrees for four times, each with different color. |
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T for Feminine
2010 Mixed media: screen printing, painting, cyanotype, resin and gold leaf. 16 x 24 inches - 40 x 60 cm Edition: 3 variable prints “Ta’” is an Arabic grammatical suffix that indicates female gender. The image here celebrates the power and beauty of Arab women. The Arabic calligraphy is a Qur'anic verse from “the book of women.” It says: “They ask you about women, Say: God will tell you about them.” More of this series |
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Dark Lovers
2008 Screen printing and monoprint, ink on canvas 23x30 inches - 58 x 76 cm. Edition: 6 Homosexuality in Islam is a big taboo. Moderate Muslims believe that it is a disease. Therefore, most sexual identities in the Islamic world are practiced in the dark. |
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I Am Blue
2008 Monoprint, ink on muslin 12 x 19 inches - 30 x 48 cm. Edition: 12 variable prints The details of the image on the left were made by acrylic gloss media squeezed from a henna bottle onto Mylar, then used it as a stencil for monoprinting. The subject matter similar to the image above deals with homosexuality in Islam. |
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Mandala Arabica
2008 Screen printing ink on panel 12 x 12 inches - 30 x 30 cm. They ask you about women, Say: God will answer you about them. This is a verse from the “Book of Women” in the Quran. My visual interpretation of this verse is to celebrate what the feminine might mean in Islam. The verse is depicted without dots, i.e. not easily readable, so to mirror the vague statement of the verse. |
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Leili Dancing with Lion 2007 Screen printing on cotton 30 x 42 inches - 77 x 107 cm Edition: 3 variable prints This image was inspired by a Persian dancer who had to face hardship in Iran because of her profession. The screen-printing was applied twice at 180 degrees rotation. Although touched up a little, the print is full of imperfections that carried the remains of the previous images on the same screen. More of this series |
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AlBadr
2006 Screen printing on paper 14 x 14 inches Edition: Variable Al-Badr means “full moon” in Arabic. In this image Arabic calligraphy forms the background design. The words are “Allah” and “Mohammed” repeated and intertwined. The figures represent the seeker, the human or “Mohammed” looking up from earth, and the giver, the divine or “Allah” looking down from the sky. The two are intertwined in intersecting two triangles. This image was printed in variable sizes to make a geometric formation with the same title. More of this series |
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Ana
2004 Screen printing on canvas 30 x 35 inches 76 x 89 cm Edition: 7 variable prints More of this series |