Amicale

For a number of years, I have been drawing sculptures from the cathedral at the Œuvre Notre-Dame Museum in Strasbourg. Young women, named Wise Virgins and Foolish Virgins in the Bible (Matthew 25, 1-13) particularly appeal to me. They almost all wear a veil and testify to their individuality by the attitude of their bodies and the expressiveness of their faces.

What is accepted in art history is often a challenge to our Western gaze today. Women wearing a veil sometimes irritate us, destabilize us and question our vision of the Muslim world.

In a large series of prints, I show famous women, wise women, courageous women, who have their origin largely in Eastern and Muslim culture. They wear a veil (or not) and defend the female cause, freedom of expression, human rights in general. They are known through awards or distinctions, their publications, and speeches. Very recently I added some unknown women: Hirsa Morid, Shor Habiboullah and Sara Salam, others will follow...