Iraqi artist Wafaa Bilal brings attention to the mental health of veterans of the Iraq war in the exhibition “The Things I Could Tell ...” at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Anderson Gallery.
First realized for ArtPace San Antonio, Texas, in 2015, the light-based installation mimics chromotherapy, a treatment that uses seven colors — in immersive lighting, clothing and food choices — to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I think the health of a veteran is the health of a nation,” Bilal says, noting that many veterans return home suffering from a condition that manifests itself much later.Visitors to the exhibition choose the color of light in the room, which is empty except for a wall and small glass busts of late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
The busts are meant to be a bridge between Iraqi and American audiences.
“I wanted [to include] the symbol of why Iraqi and many [other] veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder,” Bilal says. An associate professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Bilal has presented other politically charged works, such as “Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun” (2007) and “Virtual Jihadi” (2008).
In 2010, he had a camera surgically implanted into his head to record everything he encountered for a year (2010), for a performance called with “3rdi.” “In the past, I really was screaming to raise awareness about Iraq,” Bilal says. “The body was logical to use because I wanted to not only conceptually touch people but have people’s bodies be a part of this dialogue.”
The exhibition is part of a series of events for the 2017 Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, VCUarts Qatar, and the Qatar Foundation. “The Things I Could Tell …” opened on Nov. 1st at VCUarts' Anderson Gallery, with an opening reception held on Friday, Nov. 3rd. The installation will be on view to the public, through to January 6th, 2018.
0 Comments