Asma, 2005 Painting

Stemming from my contextual interest in art historical representation of the 'Feminine', my work is a reinterpretation of stereo typical aesthetic and cultural notions about ‘woman’, the female body and beauty. Woman has historically been ‘imagined’, objectified, and stereo typed in art as passive and submissive. She is present but always as a visual/symbolic metaphor for sensuality and eroticism; a powerless, available object; and the narrative, the vision is always that of the dominant male. Such imagery serves not only to represent but reinforce the ideology of power and dominance in the gender context. My work, therefore, is an attempt at raising questions about identity, gender roles and power dynamics. It is very much subjective—a self portrait, based on personal experiences and perception of self as a woman, constantly negotiating and recreating my identity and space in personal and social life. I intend to create autonomous female spectatorship independent of patriarchal values, where women identify and relate with the subject, and, are intellectually inspired to reinterpret their reality and identity. Using paint and mix media, I use both semi-translucent and opaque layering to create the illusion of depth and a rich visual and perceptual experience. The making/process of my work is instinctive and impulse and inner vision take the lead and evolve meaning, freeing the subject matter from concerns of genre, content and its original context.