Lalla Essaydi
LES FEMMES DU MAROC

Lalla Essaydi’s images, which combine Islamic calligraphy with representations of the female body, address the complex reality of the modern Arab female identity, as witnessed through the unique perspective of personal experience. In her images, Essaydi has painstakingly applied layers of Islamic calligraphy, through the medium of henna, directly onto female bodies, as well as objects that are symbolic of Arab femininity. By synthesizing the practices of calligraphy, an Islamic art form traditionally reserved for men, and henna, an adornment worn and applied only by women, Essaydi creates an exciting and subversive interweaving of traditional Arab cultural identities.

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