Abdelali Dahrouch, Crossing (detail), ©2005

Rheim Alkadhi, Pictography in Nine Volumes: Young Transnational Perched on the Divid, ©2005

IN/VISIBLE
By Maymanah Farhat

Currently on display at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, IN/VISIBLE is an art exhibition that articulates the experiences of a community that has often been silenced. IN/VISIBLE consists of work by first- and second-generation Arab Americans and is the first of its kind. The works of Yasser Aggour, Rheim Alkadhi, Doris Bittar, Abdelali Dahrouch, Mariam Ghani, John Halaka, Nabila Hilmi, Emily Jacir, Mohammad O. Khalil, Amina Mansour, Sumayyah Samaha, Athir Shayota, Helen Zughaib and Afaf Zurayk engage the viewer with intensely personal examinations of such issues as identity, immigration, globalization, war, political conflict and love. A multiplicity of media is used in their work, which includes drawing, painting, film, mixed media, photography, poetry and sculpture.

The works shown in IN/VISIBLE journey through the untold narratives of a population faced with the difficulties of negotiating cultural boundaries while attempting to affirm its identity. The accounts shown in the exhibition are derived from history, collective struggle and individual memory in an attempt to communicate the complexity of living between two vastly different cultures. The sociopolitical concerns expressed throughout the exhibit are common among many immigrant and minority communities, thus giving it universal appeal.

Abdelali Dahrouch’s work, for example, Crossing 2005, evokes the struggles and sacrifices of migrant workers during their border crossings. Dahrouch juxtaposes the plights of two migrant communities forced by poverty and political turmoil to risk their lives for the prospects of economic security. Crossing is made of paper and dry pigment and consists of ten 9 _”x 22 _” pieces. Each piece represents the physical challenge that determines the futures of so many migrant workers. The perilous waters or parched deserts faced by Moroccan and Mexican migrant workers are represented by vivid blue or red pieces that captivate the viewer with their concentration of color. Although the viewer is first drawn to the piece aesthetically, the power of Crossing lies hidden in the center of each piece. Typed amidst the intensity of Dahrouch’s color are the stories of immigrants that are often ignored. Underneath the strength and beauty of Dahrouch’s representations of water and desert lies the untold anguish of a people abandoned by humanity. The chronicles are typed in a delicate manner, with an almost undetectable script, veiled behind the bold colors of each piece. The great economical, political and physical perils faced by those crossing are reflected in the susceptibility of the text to disappear among a vastness of color. With Crossing, Dahrouch reminds his audience of the individual testimonials that lie behind the economic disparities of globalization.

In Rheim Alkadhi’s installation work, Pictography in 9 Volumes, 2005, individual narratives are created with nine digitally reformatted photographs, which were originally taken during the artist’s childhood in Iraq. The original narrative of each 1970s photograph is subsequently transformed through Alkadhi’s digital reformatting and the introduction of titles. The titles of each photograph also appear on nine representational volumes presented in a stack adjacent to the hanging reformatted images. Pictography in 9 Volumes revisits moments in Alkadhi’s memory as she explores and identifies them. The addition of nine representational volumes suggests the possibility of continual interpretations of the photographs.

In one of the nine photographs, Young Transnational Perched on the Divide, Alkadhi’s female subject is shown from the neck down. The unidentifiable face of her subject was most likely a photographer’s mistake, yet with Alkadhi’s reformatting and titling of the image the viewer is presented with an exploration of an imperative moment in personal documentation. The symbolism of Alkadhi’s figure sitting on a wall therefore sustains the title, which suggests that the “young transnational” remains at a distance from the viewer, “perched on the divide”. As a result, the viewer becomes engrossed with the process of searching for details in the image that might allude to the cause of her subject’s distance. Though decades since the photographs were first taken, Alkadhi redefines her experiences while captivating her audience. Pictography in 9 Volumes demonstrates methods of remembrance, the reformation of narratives and the evolution of affirmations. Through Alkadhi’s work the viewer is compelled to examine his/her own recalling of the past and how such investigations shape identity while impacting the present.

Though just two of the many artists included in IN/VISIBLE, Dahrouch and Alkadhi exemplify how the artists of the exhibition inspire the need for further articulation of experiences, particularly those of communities that are often marginalized and stereotyped. Through their thought-provoking work we are given a rare glimpse into the realities of a population striving to define itself during these arduous political times.

The exhibition will be on display until October 30, 2005 and is accompanied by a catalog, IN/VISIBLE: Contemporary Art by Arab Americans, edited by curator Salwa Mikdadi, available for purchase from the Museum gift shop. For further information on the exhibition contact the Arab American National Museum, 13624 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, MI 48126, (312) 582-AANM. For more information on the artists who participated in IN/VISIBLE e-mail:curator222-aanm@yahoo.com.