refuge

2023

The term Islam summons a variety of emotions and reactions among the Western public which do not manifest on their own but are enhanced by the rhetoric and terminology used by the leaders that the public looks up to for concerns of safety, individuality, and freedom. Consequently, when said leaders generate a society of fear-mongering beliefs towards a particular group, Islamic imagery also often evokes feelings of a foreign and mysterious ‘other’ to be cautious and afraid of. To a member of a society indoctrinated with the fear of this ‘other’ the sight of a Muslim in prayer is a cause for alarm. However, to a Muslim or the average knowledgeable individual (Muslim or not), a scene of prayer is one of peace, one of seeking refuge. Depicting the sanctuary of a prayer setting, in this installation I gesture toward the physical act of praying particularly sought out by the damaged and those seeking shelter from the world. Reclaiming a symbol that might allude to various negative or positive contexts in the Western world, I use a fragmented figural representation to show how I and many other Muslims in actuality see the act and experience of prayer- an opportunity for the wounded to seek refuge.