Wafaa Bilal
2014
Support for "I Really Want to be White", an installation at the intersection of Middle Eastern decorative arts and robotics.
While many of my works deal directly with war, racism, and current political realities, I also explore the more personal, cultural, and collective realms of everyday life – including notions of communication, memory, and relationships; how we make sense of our personal spaces in the world; how we share our experiences of the past and our hopes for the future with others; and how we overcome isolation in an increasingly technological world. I do not wish to impose narrow interpretations of my work, but rather I strive to create complex and multi-dimensional projects. Additionally, I do not feel we currently have the privilege of enjoying art as a purely aesthetic pleasure. It is a misconception that art has ever been “pure”; historically, it has been a means of expressing personal and societal realities. I strive to actively employ the tension and incongruence produced through a juxtaposition of aesthetic pleasure and aesthetic pain to attract and jolt viewers in a thought-provoking manner.