Superheroines - in hijab

An interesting article about immigration, identity and the arts: The Intersection of Islam, America, and Identity. Much of it focuses on Asma Ahmed Shikoh, a Pakistani artist who now lives in NYC and an Iranian-American artist Negar Ahkami. Their work is part of a exhibit "The Hidden and the Seen" that runs through August 29th in NYC.

Yet the two are both in their 30s, mothers of small children and emerging artists in the New York area. They are both exploring their identities as refracted through their backgrounds in the wake of 9/11. And they are both working to create a new kind of Islamic art that is modern, Westernized and female-centric. “As women artists of Muslim descent, Asma and Negar are both trying to discover who they are, to look at themselves and their heritage and to get beyond stereotypes,” said David Harper, a curator of the Austrian exhibition. “What’s so interesting is that they present two such very different ways to examine the subject from American soil.”

Here are two interesting (at least to me) paintings from Asma: A superheroine in hijab - it is titled, The Activist:


And just to give Sean Hannity a heart-attack: a transformation of the Statue of Liberty titled, Self Portrait - 1:

In her first American paintings Ms. Ahmed Shikoh reimagined the Statue of Liberty in her own image: in a Pakistani wedding dress, as a pregnant immigrant and as a regal mother, baby on hip.

Read the full article here. Also, check out Asma Ahmed Shikoh's audio slide-show here (she talks about both of the above pieces in the audio slide-show).