British Museum Publishes Comprehensive Survey of MENA Contemporary Art

The British Museum has released 'Reflections: contemporary art of the Middle East and North Africa', a 256-page publication edited by Venetia Porter, the museum's curator of Islamic and Contemporary Middle Eastern art since 1989. The book features Huda Lutfi's 2008 'Al-Sitt and her Sunglasses' on the cover, incorporating collaged images of Umm Kulthum. An introductory essay by Charles Tripp, titled 'Art and power', examines works by Alfred Tarazi and Chant Avedissian. The volume includes chapters on abstraction, geometry, script, figure and figuration, faith, and a feminist section 'A female gaze' highlighting Shirin Neshat's 1995 'Women of Allah' series and Hayv Kahraman's 'Honor Killing' (2006). A substantial section on 'Political struggle, revolution, and war' covers Egypt, Tunisia, Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Iran, and Syria individually, featuring artists such as Sliman Mansour and Ayman Baalbaki. The book concludes with 'Where is home?', addressing postcolonial debates and the museum's contested acquisitions. Priced at $25.00, the publication is available through the British Museum shop.