MAO

2015 | Embroidery series | 90 x 60 cm each

A series of works that specifically deal with the chaotic outcomes of misplaced contexts, as well as the geographic transformations of collective human ideas. The works are constructed of ready made fabric prints of Chairman Mao in different situations and poses, with Islamic Koranic texts carefully embroidered on top of his image. The combination of these two seemingly disparate visual signifiers produces a confused portrait, one that simultaneously destroys the iconic meaning of Mao's symbolic presence, or creates a new understanding towards it. The once vast stretch of the Islamic empire managed to disseminate the religion in places far from its origin, for example in China, often resulting in contrasting interpretations of the initial teachings and beliefs. Under Mao's communism, the Muslim community in China was oppressed, and continues to be persecuted today. By inscribing the Koran on top of Mao's iconic portraits, the visual revenge of this community can be realized. In the same breath, the chaos caused by the dissemination of ideas across different geographies also manifests itself within this obscure iconic fusion.