Present Tense
My father’s family is from Syria, originally from a town in the northwest called Mashta al-Helu, from which I bear my last name. Looking for ways to voice my despair over violence in the Middle East, I started to produce works claiming my own Arab roots. This body of work was first conceived after I saw news footage of blindfolded Syrian men being tossed off high buildings by ISIS because of their perceived sexual orientation. The project explores my identity in relation to my Syrian heritage and Arab ethnicity. It is a conceptual investigation of the frictions that emerge at the intersection of Middle-Eastern lineage and queerness.
This is an ongoing autobiographical exploration of my own internalized feelings about homophobia while addressing the complexities and stereotypes of my immigrant heritage.
This is an ongoing autobiographical exploration of my own internalized feelings about homophobia while addressing the complexities and stereotypes of my immigrant heritage.
Holding a tintype of myself
2015
I commissioned Kari Orvik, a San Francisco photographer specialized in producing tintype plates, to make a portrait of me.
2015
I commissioned Kari Orvik, a San Francisco photographer specialized in producing tintype plates, to make a portrait of me.
24 Variations for a Stoning Rock
2016
"The size of the stone used in stoning shall not be too large to kill a person by one or two throws and at the same time shall not be too small to be called a stone."
2016
"The size of the stone used in stoning shall not be too large to kill a person by one or two throws and at the same time shall not be too small to be called a stone."
