headscarf ban

Nothing to see here, 2013

Exhibition at mau mau gallery, Istanbul and SCA Gallery, Sydney



swept
swept under the rug, 2013

Sculpture

Human hair collected in Turkey, cotton/polyester fabric

1m x 1.5m
















untitled, 2013

Single channel HD video, no sound, portrait format, seamless loop

13min 6sec



Untitled references the 3-decade-long Turkish Headscarf Ban that was only partially lifted in 2011. The ban restricted women from entering government offices, universities and schools - impacts of which are still felt today. During its inception, the ban saw a significant rise in the sale of wigs to desperate university students and mothers keen to attend their child's graduation ceremony. Some, particularly older, women chose to wear these wigs over their veils. As painful as those images of humiliated women are for me today, this work is about engaging with that memory as a courageous, resilient and empowering act.