2014 > Monsters

Wassim
Oil on canvas
180cm x 90cm
2014
Raaghe
Oil on canvas
180cm x 90cm
2014
Daliya
Oil on canvas
180cm x 90cm
2014
Abdul-Hamid
Oil and resin on canvas
120cm x 120cm
2014
Wassami
Oil and resin on canvas
120cm x 120cm
2014

The five paintings in the series Monsters explore themes of identity, perception and marginalization. Each subject, including myself, is a young Australian from a Muslim background. They do not bear any Islamic signifiers other than their Arabic names. I am interested in the perception of young Muslims in the contemporary multicultural Australian context. While we may not bear any external indicators, it is the name that defines us as the ‘other’, and presages many assumptions and misconceptions about what we represent. These names are predisposed to assumptions of misogyny, violence, suppression of liberty and guilt. In the popular imagination we assume the role of the bad guy.