I made this work after a Saudi student of mine told me a daring story of when she and her cousin (both teenage girls at the time) stole a motorbike and rode out into the desert. Her eyes sparkled as she recounted her joy.
Linocut print on cotton rag paper
edition of 10
48 × 32 cm
(2011)
$650
Here I was thinking of the high camp of Julie Andrews singing Climb Every Mountain, in The Sound of Music, and the immense pressure that gender norms place on women, such that just living life can feel like climbing a mountain.
Linocut print on cotton rag paper
edition of 10
48 × 32 cm
(2011)
$650
The cheerleader is the epitome of Barbie femininity, this piece was an experiment in how far that message still reads when clad in a burqa.
Linocut print on cotton rag paper
edition of 10
48 × 32 cm
(2011)
$650
Freedom is a word often thrown around with the expectation that we all agree on what it means. The placard reads ‘Freedom’ in Farsi and poses a question of what freedom might mean to these women. Is it freedom to have a voice? freedom from the burqa, freedom to choose to wear it or something else again?
Linocut print on cotton rag paper
edition of 10
48 × 32 cm
(2011)
$650
In Australia there have been many violent attacks on women wearing a variety of typically Muslim coded dress. In this work I am playing with the language of the Aussie barbecue, known as a barbie. I wanted anyone wearing a burqa to feel welcome at a barbie (our sacred backyard meat burning ceremony). Here our protagonist holds some tongs and a cutting-sliding-flipping tool known as a Barbie-Mate. She’s an Aussie.
Linocut print on cotton rag paper
edition of 10
48 × 32 cm
(2011)
$650
Riding broncos is culturally ascribed as men’s work, and is very much a sport of the Americas. I wanted to ask how well Barbie in her burqa would stand up to the rodeo arena. How tough do you have to be to wear a burqa in a place that says you shouldn’t?
Linocut print on cotton rag paper
edition of 10
48 × 32 cm
(2011)
$650
In some parts of the ultra conservative Muslim world, football arenas have been used as sites of public punishment. This is especially so for women accused of adultery. These same stadiums are also places are not allowed when male soccer teams are playing. I wanted to break all these rules. Not only would she be present but she would save the goal and win the game.
Linocut print on cotton rag paper
edition of 10
48 × 32 cm
(2011)
$650
Rockit Burqa shows the protagonist in the throws of musical ecstasy. She is wielding a heavy-metal styled guitar in a pose often adopted by male rock musicians; legs spread, guitar neck held in a fist in a phallic gesture. Rockit is sweating, energetic, and rocking out, breaking all the rules of feminine self-effacement.
Linocut print on cotton rag paper
edition of 10
48 × 32 cm
(2011)
$650
Roller Derby is fast, furious, and from the wrong side of town. It demands physical strength, speed, balance, and no fear. Could you do it in a burqa? Would you? Burqas may also be from the wrong side of town, to wear one here, do you need a take no prisoners attitude or are these women under the thumb? Who am I to say?
Linocut print on cotton rag paper
edition of 10
48 × 32 cm
(2011)
$650
Synchronised swimming is a much maligned sport that requires immense strength and composure to achieve balletic movement underwater upside down. It seems almost impossible, and yet they can make it look so easy. I dare say it would be impossible in a burqa as may be so many other physical activities, but I don’t imagine one could do it in a ballgown and heels either.
Linocut print on cotton rag paper
edition of 10
48 × 32 cm
(2011)
$650