Prints
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Fist of Night or Daughter of Quraish 2018 Screen printing and painting 24 x 32 inches Inspired by Qura'nic illumination this image display a traditional henna pattern named "Fist of Night" because women and girls put a henna paste morsel in their palms, make a fist, wrap it firmly and sleep on it. In the morning the henna marks form along natural palm lines. The calligraphy is of lyrics of girls traditional song that depicts fragments of a story of a woman getting mad at her domestic patriarch. This print is part of a body of work entitled "Green In The Market, Red In Mother's Hand". It depicts traditional henna styles in Hofuf, Saudi Arabia, my home town. I have documented eight henna designs by interviewing local women above 60 years. Prior to 1940s, the patterns were limited to a small repertoire and were geometric, symmetrical, reproducible and had descriptive names. The name of this design is "The Caged One". In this body of work, I have paired the design with local folk tales told by women and usually were stories that empower women. More of this series |
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Shahadah 2017 Screen printing. Ink on paper 20 x 24 inches In a funky improvised calligraphy the Shahadah is written in the center of this piece. Henna design is drawn on its right and wavy pattern on its left. The periphery of this print depicts the design of the Shmaqh (Saudi men's head dress). The Shahadah, the first pillar of Islam is a two-sentence expression that indicate your Muslim status: I believe that there is no god but God and that Muhammed is his messenger. |
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Shrinks From All Rendezvous 2017 Screen printing. Ink on paper 24 x 30 inches This work is the inspiration of a poem by a young Bedouin woman called Juml. She lived in the the 9th century Iraq as a concubine to the poet Idris Ibn Abi Hafsah who was a great deal her senior. Earth ware plates and illustrations on the Maqamat Al-Hamathani and Maqamat Al-Harir from 9th-11the centuries were the influence of the aesthetics of this print. |
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She Thinks She Makes Art 2016 Screen printing. Ink on board 30 x 30 inches - 76 x 76 cm Edition: 4 variable prints on paper, 1 print on board. A mandala like arrangement with mirror image double-self-portrait in the middle. The artist is holding her brush as a fencing sword with which she is fighting herself. Geometric Islamic design in the center juxtaposes the peripheral flowery henna design. Arabic letters F and N (Arabic for art) are calligraphed at corners. |
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Eve 2016 Screen printing. Ink on paper. 33 x 33 inches - 84 x 84 cm Edition: 2 variable prints Eve, Adam, a cat, Satan, an ouroboros, Tree of Life, and God. I have borrowed the fire halos from Islamic paintings of Eve and Adam. The frame decoration is also inspired by Islamic art motifs. This print is still exploratory. a later version shows the word Eve in Arabic at the bottom. |
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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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Khadijah "God be pleased with her" 2014 Screen printing. Ink on hand dyed fabric. 5 x 12 feet - 150 x 370 cm Edition: 1 This is part of the installation "The Great Mother of Islam". It represent the first wife of Prophet Mohammed pregnant with her youngest child "Fatimah" the Mistress of Heaven. At the lower part there are three large flowers that represent Khadija's older daughters. A fire halo, large and ramified, encircle all. Large size dictated printing in sections using stencils. |
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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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The Caged One or The Gum Chewer 2014 Intaglio. Ink on paper. 32 x40 inches - 81 x 102 cm Edition: 1 This print is part of a body of work entitled "Green In The Market, Red In Mother's Hand". It depicts traditional henna styles in Hofuf, Saudi Arabia, my home town. I have documented eight henna designs by interviewing local women above 60 years. Prior to 1940s, the patterns were limited to a small repertoire and were geometric, symmetrical, reproducible and had descriptive names. The name of this design is "The Caged One". In this body of work, I have paired the design with local folk tales told by women and usually were stories that empower women. The story here is titled "The Gum Chewer" More of this series |
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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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Habiba In Pink
2013 Screen Printing on raw canvas 5 x 7 feet - 152 x 213 cm Edition: 1 The patterns in the background are of the red and white checkered headdress of Saudi men and the geometric design of Bedouin women's woven rugs. A flame of fire embraces young Habiba who is holding her cell phone with one hand and her cat with the other. This large print is part of an the installation work "Habiba's Chamber" where it is hung inside a 10 feet x 10 feet shrine. |
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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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Girls Slave Singers
2012 Screen printing, henna on silk Edition: 4 Henna best acts on animal tissue and hence the silk. The image here is similar to the previous print except that one of the three screens used above was omitted here (the pink color above). The silk is treated in two screen printing stages, it was washed after the first printing leaving a dark ochre color then the second screen was applied where the henna was left in, giving the dark reddish brown color. The mandala like drawing is a mix of Islamic design, henna pattern, and Kufic calligraphy. |
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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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Story of A Woman
2011 Screen printing on paper 27 x 31 inches - 67 x 79 cm Edition: Variable Hend Bint 'Utbah was an Arab woman who claimed her freedom and asked her father, not to marry her out without her consent because, she told him, she was wise enough to choose what’s right for her. She married Abu Sufyaan who became the leader of Mecca the birth place of Islam. Her son Mu'awiyah became the founder of the Umayyad dynasty in Syria. More of this series |
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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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Walladeh
2004 Screen printing henna on wool 34 x 40 inches - 86 x 101 cm Inspired by the Andalusian princess Walladeh Bint Al-Mustakfi, the calligraphy and design reflects traditional Islamic art from that era. The figures in the middle are inspired by Da Vinci's vitruvian man but they refer to human sexuality as part of cultural aesthetics. The human figures are part of the design pattern. 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 |
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Al Andalus
2004 Screen printing, henna on raw canvas 15 x 25 inches - 38 x 64 cm Edition: 7 Islamic design is employed with figurative element. |
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A Song From Quraish
2003 Screen printing, ink on raw canvas 5 feet x 5 feet - 150 x 150 cm Edition: 3 More of this series |
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Liver Eater
2005 Screen printing on paper 24 x 30 inches - 60 x 76 cm Edition: Variable More of this series |