Deviant Vision #4
2020 - Drawing & Print (Drawing & Print)
35 x 30 cm
Kubra Khademi
Kubra Khademi’s work celebrates the female body and in her detailed drawings and paintings she portrays female bodies floating on white paper. Specifically she portrays the two bodies she had access to when she learned how to draw: herself and on occasion her mother. She represents women as warriors, goddesses and shameless playful heroines in search of pleasure and discovery. She often uses personal stories as raw material for her drawings that are characterized by sharp continuous lines and flat colors, with loose references to Mongolian miniatures, Buddhist paintings with an influence of modern illustrated anatomy books. In her pictorial work bodies are absolved of suffering, they are sparse in emotional expression, even scenes of violence are devoid of drama, with a strange sense of serenity, peace and stoicism. The series of drawings Deviant-Vision confronts the notion that nudity and desire are sins, and the idea that the female body is to be hidden away in order to not disturb the order of the masculine world. Through the simple drawing of non-sexual body parts that are usually covered, evoking lightly sexual allusive gestures, she mocks the exaggerated reactions and sexist projections on women’s body parts that are kept hidden. Next to the drawings, written with gold leaf we find verses from Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207–1273) a celebrated Persian poet, jurist, theologian, mystic and Afghani exile.
Afghani artist Kubra Khademi uses her practice to explore her experiences as both a refugee and as a woman. Khademi spent her childhood and teenage years in Ghor, a province that has repeatedly suffered from targeted killings and bombings by the Taliban in the last twenty years. During her studies she began exploring public performance, a practice she continued upon her return to Kabul. Her work actively responded to the extreme patriarchal politics of the region, and in February 2015 she made the performance Armor turning her underwear into a protective shell to address the constant repression and harassment that women suffer. She fashioned a kind of armour that moulded her breasts and buttocks. She performed wearing it on a crowded street. The performance lasted only eight minutes, the reaction was so violent that she was forced to interrupt it. A number of death threats followed, forcing her to flee to France a few days after the performance. In both her performances and her gouaches, Kubra Khademi utilizes her body to affirm a shame-free femininity and to seek a new place for women in society, history and in public space.
Colors:
Related works sharing similar palette
© » KADIST
Tuan Andrew Nguyen
2012This work presents the image of an immolated monk engraved on a baseball bat...
© » KADIST
Benoît Maire
The series Clouds paintings by Benoît Maire features oil on canvas works in varying format, in which the artist depicts clouds, using a variety of tools, including a spray gun, paintbrush, or palette knife...
© » LE MONDE
Au Musée Picasso, à Paris, Léonce Rosenberg ou les mésaventures d’un marchand d’art Cet article vous est offert Pour lire gratuitement cet article réservé aux abonnés, connectez-vous Se connecter Vous n'êtes pas inscrit sur Le Monde ? Inscrivez-vous gratuitement Article réservé aux abonnés « Le Combat » (1928), de Giorgio De Chirico...
© » THEARTNEWSPER
A peek behind the many masks of James Ensor in new Brussels show Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Exhibitions preview A peek behind the many masks of James Ensor in new Brussels show A new exhibition will explore the Belgian artist’s later works, including his little-known ballet, as part of Belgium’s year-long commemoration of the 75th anniversary of his death J...
© » KADIST
Jeffry Mitchell
2012Though the title might suggest an Adonis, Jeffry Mitchell’s The Swimmer (2012) is a squat, jolly man with a protuberant belly...
© » IGNANT
A Sculptural Travertine Staircase Takes Centre Stage in RDAI’s Hermès Vienna Store Renovation - IGNANT Name RDAI Words Anna Dorothea Ker In the landmark-laden Graben District at the heart of Vienna, the interior architecture of a newly renovated and expanded Hermès store in an 18th-century building honors the arthistorical riches of its city...
© » ANOTHER
Lean Lui’s Sensual Photo Book Reimagines Girly Tropes | AnOther Photographer Lean Lui discusses her poetic new photo book, which embraces feminine-coded motifs like bows and white socks December 06, 2023 Text Zoe Whitfield When Lean Lui first began photographing her younger sister, it was when they were both children, reenacting scenes they’d watched play out on American modelling shows...
© » ARTSJOURNAL
'Get the Picture' is a cheeky dive into the art world's 'strategic snobbery' : NPR Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player 'Get the Picture' is a cheeky dive into the art world's 'strategic snobbery' First of all, can we stop using the word "liminal"? Bianca Bosker spent five years doing in-depth research for Get the Picture — an irreverent book about "strategic snobbery" in the art world...
