Sherin Guirguis, Hayv Kahraman, photo by Kristy Boylan
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Sanan Mazinani, Samira Yamin, photo by Kristy Boylan
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Using the architectural form mashrabiya as a visual trope, this exhibition shows artwork that complicates Western paradigms of viewing and representing Middle Eastern and Islamic culture. Found throughout the Middle East, the mashrabiya is a projecting window that is screened with intricate latticed designs in wood. It is used to shield the domestic space from the public gaze, while allowing the inhabitants to survey the street below unseen.
The mashrabiya and its attendant practice of looking form the conceptual basis for this exhibition. The artworks implicate the viewer as both witness and participant in a dynamic, responsive form of looking. Who has the power to look? What social conditions arise from the dynamics of looking and being seen? What is the responsibility of the viewer in this power dynamic?
Artists: Ala Ebtekar, Sherin Guirguis, Taraneh Hemami, Hayv Kahraman, Sanaz Mazinani, Samira Yamin
Curated by Kathy Zarur, Santhi Kavuri-Bauer, Mark Johnson and Sharon Bliss
San Francisco State University Fine Arts Gallery, February 2017 - March 2017
The mashrabiya and its attendant practice of looking form the conceptual basis for this exhibition. The artworks implicate the viewer as both witness and participant in a dynamic, responsive form of looking. Who has the power to look? What social conditions arise from the dynamics of looking and being seen? What is the responsibility of the viewer in this power dynamic?
Artists: Ala Ebtekar, Sherin Guirguis, Taraneh Hemami, Hayv Kahraman, Sanaz Mazinani, Samira Yamin
Curated by Kathy Zarur, Santhi Kavuri-Bauer, Mark Johnson and Sharon Bliss
San Francisco State University Fine Arts Gallery, February 2017 - March 2017