The show is curated by Justine Ludwig (with whom I have worked before, exhibiting at the Contemporary Arts Centre, Ohio). Her concept was to address the notion of camouflage, and base the artworks around it. As I have used natural patterns as metaphors for characters in my drawings, the concept suited me well.
I created a triptych of male portraits under the title of ‘morphosis.’ Discussing male identity, cross-culturally, has remained an area of study in my practice. The three protagonists stare out at the audience. They belong to different cultural social standings. The Afghan man carries his baggage of associations, as being hyper-masculine and barbaric, the middle (pin- haired) man is a cross dresser that dabbles in gender swap, and the hipster on the other side also sports facial hair, but unlike the Afghan man, his outlook reads as forward looking, creative, and contemporary. Within these three contrasting readings of masculinity, the camouflage patterns (monocles) from butterflies and moth wings, binds them together as one. Perhaps, after all, regardless of cultural or gender orientation, we all adopt strategies of survival and assimilation, through adopting outlooks.
