QUOTE USED BY NAWAL AL SAADAWI: the quote is in arabic and this is the translation

Refuse, Revolt,wake up, Refuse, face the situation without being broken,tear out the Burqa, do not let them choose for you, Darkness will be over for sure,so start the shortcut, do not give up, your silence is weakness and suicidal.

Working for the first time with the traditionally male-dominated Egyptian textile craft of Khayamiya, in this body of work Ghada Amer deploys Eastern and Western voices within a series of large-scale abstract appliqué textile works. Each work translates statements and citations by Female leaders into bold geometric formations that reference the ubiquitous language of the QR code. This new body of work expands on Amer’s ongoing series of text paintings which highlight women's agency by restating statements on or by women about identity and empowerment.

Here a quote by Amina Sboui reads in Arabic: 'My body belongs to me and it does not represent the honor of anyone.'

QUOTE USED BY NAWAL AL SAADAWI: the quote is in arabic

and this is the translation

Refuse, Revolt,wake up, Refuse, face the situation without being broken,tear out the Burqa, do not let them choose for you, Darkness will be over for sure,so start the shortcut, do not give up, your silence is weakness and suicidal.

Quote by DESMOND TUTU the quote is in English

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.

In 'IF YOU ARE NEUTRAL’ Amer worked for the first time with an Egyptian appliqué technique that is traditionally a craft only undertaken by men. A statement by the late Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, Nobel Peace Laureate and anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu is transformed is transformed into a bold geometric composition that references ubiquitous QR codes, a contemporary visual language that has replaced printed text.

Quote used by AUDRE LORDE the quote is in English

Your silence will not protect you.

In 'ONE IS NOT BORN' (2023) Amer worked with an Egyptian appliqué technique that is traditionally a craft only undertaken by men. A statement by Simone de Beauvoir - “one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman” is transformed into a bold geometric composition that references ubiquitous QR codes, a contemporary visual language that has replaced printed text. The work invites viewers to appreciate the overlooked riches of language, highlighting how easily one can become lost in translation.

Working for the first time with the traditionally male-dominated Egyptian textile craft of Khayamiya, in this body of work Ghada Amer deploys Eastern and Western voices within a series of large-scale abstract appliqué textile works. Each work translates statements and citations by Female leaders into bold geometric formations that reference the ubiquitous language of the QR code.

This new body of work expands on Amer’s ongoing series of text paintings which highlight women's agency by restating statements on or by women about identity and empowerment. Here a quote by Nawal al Saadawi reads in Arabic: 'Refuse, Revolt, Wake up, Refuse. Face the situation without being broken, tear out the Burqa, do not let them choose for you, Darkness will be over for sure,so start the shortcut, do not give up, your silence is weakness and suicidal.'

QUOTE USED BY NAWAL AL SAADAWI: the quote is in arabic and this is the translation

Refuse, Revolt,wake up, Refuse, face the situation without being broken,tear out the Burqa, do not let them choose for you, Darkness will be over for sure,so start the shortcut, do not give up, your silence is weakness and suicidal.

Ghada Amer’s iconic embroidered installation 'Barbie Loves Ken, Ken Loves Barbie' (1995/2002), was included in the artist’s survey exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in 2008. Consisting of two embroidered straightjackets made to fit the doll like proportions of a life size Barbie and Ken, each straight jacket is hand embroidered with the text 'Ken Loves Barbie, Barbie Loves Ken'. The work is an early example of Amer's installation practice and reflects on the obsessive nature of love and the impossible beauty standards that define Mattel dolls which are absorbed by young women.

"The outfits are both onesies — garments that should exist without gender, as there are no skirts, heels, or suit jackets to reference traditional women’s and men’s clothing. Still, it is obvious whose onesie is whose. Amer has transferred Barbie’s body proportions onto her costume, making the exaggerated proportions of her body even more startling" - Elaine Velie, Hyperallergic, 2023