2017
room 1: 5 black and white photographs, 297 mm x 420 mm, framed.
room 2: video installation, performing a sensitive swing, 2016
pilsen, czechia
in 2017, i was invited by lukas houdek to join an exhibition focusing on queer identities from jordan, to be held in pilsen, czechia. i was meant to show performing a sensitive swing, 2016 — my first queer art project — internationally for the very first time.
faced with the tension between pride and safety, i decided with lukas — one day before the opening — to create a witty, sarcastic play within the exhibition space. in the first room, i staged a fake exhibition of architectural photography — a harmless, already known work performed for the camera. visitors were invited into the charade, posing for photographs as i guided them through the fabricated show. the audience, knowingly or unknowingly, became co-conspirators in building a public image i could safely share back home.
meanwhile, in a second, concealed room, the real work unfolded: two video installations, a red swing, and a portrait of reema, my alter ego. this hidden space held the unspoken, unshown truth — a raw, intimate exploration of queer identity, vulnerability, and defiance.
me is someone else captures the dual performance demanded to navigate complex terrains. it exposes the fragile architecture of constructed realities, and the layered negotiations queer bodies endure when authenticity becomes a risk.
exhibited at galerie verstredu in collaboration with lukas houdek, in pilsen, czechia
part of carte blanche, a program of goethe-institut prag
photos: coutesy of galerie verstredu