What Makes Me Laugh Exhibition
My exhibition "What Makes Me Laugh?" is part of a body of work exploring issues around 9/11 and 7/7 and stems from my concern about the violent backlash against members of the Muslim Community in Britain in the short aftermath of 7/7.
The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) issued two leaflets after 7/7 – "Terrorism Not in Our Name" and "Stay Safe and Be Proactive". The latter leaflet advised Muslim students to be proactive and positive. It was suggested that an art exhibition portraying a positive image of Muslims would be helpful. As I was exploring similar issues I felt I was well placed to offer help with this.
In the Guardian, (1 August 2005, p6) I was fascinated to read an article entitled "Festival of Fun Reclaims the Spirit of Islam". I thought this was a wonderful, peaceful "Ghandian" approach to a very difficult and tense situation and was inspired to encompass this philosophy into my art practice. Humour and fun can cut through many difficult situations so the germ of the idea behind "What Makes Me Laugh?" took root in that moment.
I was in the final year of an art degree at Lancaster University so I contacted Lancaster University Islamic Society and this resulted in a very successful collaboration. Two women, Masitah Ghazali and Sara Khan invited me to various Islamic Society events where I took photographs. A questionnaire was handed out to Islamic Society members to enable me to put a positive biography next to each photograph and the text I needed from the question "What Makes Me Laugh?" The exhibition was launched in February 2006 at Lancaster University Chaplaincy Centre and enjoys continued and expanding popularity.
The Exhibition consists of 19 large format photographs professionally framed with accompanying biographies and is available for hire. (Terms and conditions apply).