Image and Voice: Muslim women in Contemporary Art

Abstract

This paper investigates the Western image of the Muslim woman in the context of contemporary art. Through my art practice I use the veiled woman cipher to reflect on personal experiences whilst broadening definitions and displacing hegemonic representations of veiling and Muslim women in an Australian cultural context. These are exemplified through autobiographical elements, parody in the Extremist Activity series, performative interventions illustrating the concept of the body as an occupied site and architectural devices that (re)create notions of inclusion, exclusion and otherness in space. From loquacious and overbearing noblewomen to helpless harem slaves awaiting rescue by her Orientalist saviours, an analysis of the development of the Muslim woman’s image throughout history reveals the shifting and contingent nature of her role in the Western imagination. Finally, an examination of current representations of Muslim women in Australian contemporary art demonstrates how these images often repeat and reinforce, rather than depart from, Orientalist and neo-Orientalist constructs.