Displacement :
Tragedy Installation :
Tragedy Twin :
Tragedy Video :
Wa Waila :
Bio :
Being born in Senegal from Kuwaiti parents and living in Japan for a period of more than ten years, my artistic vision can be described as being a "hybrid" one. 'The Bearded Arab Man', an image of masculinity and narcissism in my view as an Arab woman, is one that I use in most of my works, but perhaps because of the Japanese influence the image almost always appears to be 2 dimensional, even when using film. In my series "The Tragedy of Self", I have focused on th social context of the modern age, in which I feel the "I" is more prominent than the "We". Individual narcissism is rampant every where we look, and I am very keen to explore this condition. But instead of just looking at it from a critical viewpoint, I have decided to realize it: physically. I have taken photographs of myself as a masculine saint-like figure, in order to display the joy and tragedy which come with individual narcissism. I have become the bearded Arab man I envision, and experienced his solitary love of self. In other words I prefer to focus on the social and psychological implications of art rather than the technical ones. This body of work includes elements of performance, photography, painting, and film.
Education & General :
1983 - Born in Dakar, Senegal. Kuwaiti nationality.
1999 - Moves to Japan, under a scholarship by the Ministry of Higher Education of the State of Kuwait.
2005 - Graduates from Musashino Art University, BA in Visual Communicatio Design.
2007 - Graduates from Tama Art University, Master's Degree in Information Design.
2010 - Graduates from doctoral program of Tokyo University of the Arts, Inter-Media Art department, and receives Phd in Fine Arts.
Major Exhibitions & Awards :
1999 - First solo exhibition, Radisson SAS, Kuwait.
2002 - Participates in UNICEF sponsored "United Buddy Bears" project, Berlin, Germany. Project is exhibited in many major cities around the world.
2005 - Recieves Graduation Prize of Excellence from Musashino Art University, for animated film "Visual Violence".
2005 - "Visual Violence" is selected to be aired on television program "Digital Stadium", NHK,Japanese national television.
2006 - Exhibits "Visual Violence" in Shanghai International Science & Art exhibition,as part of Tama Art Universit showcase.
2006 - Group exhibition "The Unveiling of Hishshik Bishshik", Sultan Gallery, Kuwait.
2006 - Group exhibition "Furoya-Gekijo" (Bath-house Theater), Naoshima island, Shikoku, Japan.
2007 - Group exhibition "Autamatica", Bank Art NYK Gallery, Yokohama Japan. 2008 - Group exhibition "Terminal", Bank Art NYK Gallery, Yokohama, Japan.
2008 - Film "WAHIDA" (Lone Woman) selected as part of the official competition of the Gulf Film Festival, Dubai, U.A.E.
2008 - Photographic work "Eternally Out of Place" selected as part of Toky Wonder Wall, a competition sponsored by the city of Tokyo.
2008 - Photographic work "Eternally Out of Place" exhibited in "In Transition Russia 2008", an internationally curated exhibition, taking place at Moscow & Ekaterinburg, Russia.
2009 - "Tokyo Wonder Seeds" grou exhibition, Tokyo Wonder Site Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan.
2009 - "Gulf Goth Visual Vortex (G.G.V.V.)" group exhibition, Sultan Gallery Kuwait.
2009 - Short film "Wa Waila" (Oh Torment) selected and screened at Gulf Film Festival, Dubai, U.A.E.
2009 - Personal Exhibition at Tokyo Wonde Site, Japan.
2009 - Phd graduates exhibition, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts & Music, Japan.
2010 - Phd Thesis "The Beautiful Sadness : The Aesthetics of Sadness in Middle-Eastern Thought" is stored in the Japanese National Library and Tokyo University of Arts library.
Posts
