Untitled

This work is meant to question the audience on the concepts of beauty and authority, by displaying the representing a burka girl with the same body gesture as Mona Lisa, an iconic painting many time celebrated for its timeless beauty. The figure of women wearing burkas is subject to a lot of social issues, debates or tensions and I found interesting to represent such a figure in this painting (as well as in the related series of works ) as a twisted stereotype and empowering figure where she shows confidence, status, prestige, to the opposite of the image of the submissive figure the burka is associated with. The pearl bracelets is a contrasting element with the presumed restraint or modesty of the garment and is a symbol of feminity. Furthermore, wearing a burka may be associated with the loss of identity (the whole face including the eyes is covered) but the body gesture and bracelets express otherwise.