Wrapped
Digital print on 230 gsm true matte hi-white paper
Edition: 2 of 3
86 cm x 123 cm
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
As a devout Muslim, I have grown up knowing the importance of peace, respect, and brotherhood. Islam teaches us that every life is precious, and the genocide in Palestine is a harsh reminder that not everyone believes the same. In 2022 and 2024, I visited Palestine, and a fondness and protectiveness for this land and its people grew within me. The news I am exposed to paints a very different picture of this beautiful land. The unfairness of media reporting is the primary reason I undertook this controversial topic. I am lucky that I exist in the time of social media and photojournalism because “If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing” (X 1998: [Sa]). To portray the discrepancies between the large US media outlets and ground-level journalists, I used methods of altering digital media. I make a statement of the tampering of information and perspective by doing it myself, so that every artwork has been mediated several times before reaching you, the viewer. Everything we consume is mediated, everything is subjective, everything is personal.
A universally accepted symbol of resistance, the keffiyeh which gained popularity in the 1930s, was used in Wrapped (2024).
X, Malcolm. 1998. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York, NY: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group.