Review

The Body in Twilight: Representation of the Human Body, Sexuality and Struggle in Contemporary Arab Art

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v11i1.1349

Keywords:

Contemporary Arab art, gender, sexuality, body, Arab world

Abstract

Art can be particularly an effective means of building transnational understanding across cultural divides. Specifically, the act of making art to express conflict, sexuality and identity is significant as Arab women have frequently been marginalised and excluded from such a site of visibility and meaning.  Contemporary Arab women artists not only contribute to global feminist theory but also deal with their aesthetic, visual and personal concerns. The Body in Twilight: Representation of the Human Body, Sexuality and Struggle in Contemporary Arab Art is a book by the Syrian professor of visual art and design Fassih Keiso. In this book, Keiso explores the representation of the human body in contemporary Arab art and its relationship to issues of sexuality and struggle. He argues that the representation of the body in Arab art reflects broader societal changes and struggles and that the use of the body as a site of resistance and political commentary is a common theme in contemporary Arab art. Despite the lack of images of artworks by the artists discussed in this book, the book provides a compelling contribution to comparative gender and feminist art and the broader international art on the centrality of sexuality in politics and society.

Acknowledgement

This publication stemmed from the author’s time as a Barker Visiting Fellow at the Durham Residential Research Library in 2022. As such the author wishes to warmly acknowledge the University of Durham and its staff for their generous support which led to the creation of this piece.

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Published

2023-10-26

Issue

Section

Book Reviews