From cockroach-festooned airport chairs to a razor-blade dress — women artists of the Islamic world shine at the ROM

Women artists have been drastically under-represented in art history, as seen in the disproportionately fewer works by female artists held by public art museums and galleries.

(An analysis of 31 museums across the U.S. showed women made up a mere 11 per cent of acquisitions, and 14.9 per cent of solo and group exhibitions from 2008 to 2020.)

The Royal Ontario Museum is on a mission to change that.

Its latest exhibition, “Being and Belonging: Contemporary Women Artists from the Islamic World and Beyond,” features works by 25 women, emerging and globally renowned, from or connected to the Islamic world spanning West Africa to Southeast Asia.

“Being and Belonging” provocatively explores topics of violence, war, sexuality and joy through several artistic mediums; from digital print to acrylic on canvas to video production.

The exhibition “not only confronts urgent contemporary issues, but does so by foregrounding voices of women with deep ties to the Islamic world and beyond. Voices that, for too long, have gone unheard, not just in political discourse, but in museums like ROM,” Josh Basseches, ROM director and CEO, says in the exhibit catalogue.

Fahmida Suleman, the lead curator of “Being and Belonging,” spent 18 months pulling it together alongside co-curator Silvia Forni, a process that normally takes at least two years.

Suleman, who has Indian origins but was born in Uganda, said she naturally understands the idea of searching for a sense of belonging, especially after being raised in Canada and later leaving to study in the United Kingdom for 24 years.

Though a practising Muslim, Suleman saw importance in showcasing artworks under the broad term “Islamic world” to shine a light on the complex cultural, political and geographical stories of contemporary women born in or associated with Islam, which includes many who don’t identify as Muslim.

“We want to show the diversity of the globe and that there isn’t just one form of Islam. We wanted it to be intergenerational. We wanted everyone to have equal footing. And we wanted to state that women have a voice and it’s important they’re given a chance,” Suleman said.

The exhibition is sectioned in three themes; Space, Movement and Power. However, many of the artworks have overlapping themes: for example, how immigration or displacement involve governmental power.

In Space, the works typically surrounded the artists’ homes and countries but could also be about conceptual space and the space to be creative.

A notable piece in the section is Syrian artist Sulafa Hijazi’s “Dress,” a digitally printed dress on canvas that includes 372 QR codes, reminiscent of the colourful, hand-embroidered motifs on Syrian and Palestinian dresses. Traditionally, these patterned dresses reflected the wearer’s regional identity, age, marital status and economic status. In the art piece, each QR code provides a virtual link to articles, pictures, videos and more, a way of bringing together new forms of connectivity and women’s narratives beyond the physical realm.

Movement is up next, which explores the human experience in forced migration, displacement, freedom and assimilation.

A piece to look out for here is Pakistani artist Tazeen Qayyum’s “A Holding Pattern.” The stunning installation transforms an ordinary set of Toronto Pearson International Airport chairs into a crimson floral garden against a backdrop of repeated cockroach silhouettes.

“‘A Holding Pattern’ references the airport transit terminology for continuous routing loops when planes cannot land, which serves as an apt metaphor for the various socio-political conundrums faced by racialized people today,” said Qayyum in a catalogue interview.

“Generally, cockroaches are branded as repulsive with some redeeming qualities of resilience and survival, so the cockroach motif serves as social commentary on how, in today’s war- and hate-driven environment, the value of human life is reduced to that of a pest insect. Yet the motif also narrates the everyday human stories of resilience and triumph over adversities.”

The final section is Power, which ranges from political power to empowerment. The multi-faceted section contains artwork that touches on topics like the brutality of war and patriarchal systems of control and abuse, but also underscores individual agency and presents women as critical truth-tellers rather than silent victims.

Perhaps the most thought-provoking pieces in this section are Bangladeshi artist Tayeba Begum Lipi’s “Not For Me” and “The Baby Frock.” From afar, the silver stiletto heels and what looks to be a matching fashion top shine beautifully in a glass enclosure until you get close and realize both garments are made out of stainless-steel razor blades. The shoes and the top, which is actually designed as a child’s dress, are intended to speak to the global issues of gender-based violence and female marginality while also being an ode to Lipi’s childhood experience of being present for home births of family members and helping by boiling razor blades to sterilize them for the local midwives.

Throughout the exhibition, the labels that contain the names of the artist and artwork also include a quote from each artist, an intentional addition “to respect the artists and give them a platform to say what they wanted to say in their own words,” said Suleman.

The exhibit can be viewed in the Roloff Beny Gallery on the fourth level of the ROM until Nov. 19. Suleman encourages audiences of all ages to visit with open minds, with hopes of introducing them to new perspectives.

“I would love for audiences who don’t normally consider coming to the ROM, or who came as children to see the dinosaurs and mummies, to actually come and see the ROM as something contemporary. A place where you can talk about issues that have relevance today, ones that really matter. Whether its discrimination against LGBTQ communities, issues around domestic violence, spirituality, joy or the immigrant experience,” Suleman said.

“I want people to feel like they belong at the ROM and that their voices and cultures are represented. I’m hoping that the show will open that conversation up and people will feel closer to the institution in that way.”