INDIVIDUAL WORKS:

AFGHAN DIALOGS - silk embroideries

IRAQ DIALOGS - fired ceramic tiles

ARAB DIALOGS - fired ceramic tiles

NEWS PAINTINGS - Acrylic on canvas

INSTALLATION VIEWS - installation views

POSTCARDS - Please, teach me Arabic (Famous Austrians)

POSTCARDS - FREEDOM FRIES STAMPS ETC.

WAR ON TERROR - ball-point pen drawings

BASIC ARABIC - photographs

BASIC ARABIC - MY FIRST 500 HOURS BASIC, ARABIC / MY SECOND 500 HOURS BASIC ARABIC

Francesco Manacorda - Filtering Newss

Paul Mattick - POSTCARDS

Rainer Ganahl - ROAD TO WAR Ð The Burning Of History Gone Evil Onto A Pathetic External Hard Drive

Searching "Terrorism" on Google.com - wall painting

AFGHAN DIALOGS - embroideries

AFGHAN DIALOG, AMERICA STRIKES BACK, 2001/02
25 x 32 (29 x 41) inches
mumok
(#1, 1a)

AMERICA STRIKES BACK If America is hurting others, it should first find out how much pain it can take herself;

AFGHAN DIALOG, NEXT TARGET? , 2001/02
26.5 x 30.5 (32 x 40)

NEXT TARGET? G8 members should make their decisions wisely;

AFGHAN DIALOG, LIVE, LIVE, LIVE …EVIL, 2001/03
50 x 73 inches / 127 x 185 cm (4)

LIVE, LIVE, LIVE …EVIL What can helpless people do except to pray that the almighty gives us power and strength to bear these difficulties and take care of us. Because the whole world is chasing us you should make some arrangement for our safety.

AFGHAN DIALOG, NEXT TARGET, 2001/02
26.5 X 63 inches (6)

NEXT TARGET? Attacking Muslim countries, America should respect at least American opposition;

#14
AFGHAN DIALOG, AMERICA AT WAR, 2002
21 x 30 inches.

AMERICA AT WAR To finish and destroy terrorism, the entire Muslim world is with America;

AFGHAN DIALOG, LATEST DEVELOMPMENTS
22 x 31.5 (29 x 41)#17

LATEST DEVELOMPMENTS The life of Pharaoh is a lesson for the world till doomsday;

AFGHAN DIALOG, HOMELAND SECURITY, 2002
25.5 x 63.5 inches

HOMELAND SECURITY The entire Muslim world is with America against terrorism;

AFGHAN DIALOG, AMONG THE RUINS, 2002
24 x 31 inches

AMONG THE RUINS With the attacks on Afghanistan, did America prove to be a peaceful nation?

AFGHAN DIALOG, NEWS NETWORK RUNNING TITLES, 2002

Silk embroidery, 81 x 183 cm (32 x 72 inches)

AFGHAN DIALOG, NEWS NETWORK LOGOS, 2002
32 x 72 inches

Afghan Dialogs – Embroidering Politics

All works presented in this exhibition have been created since September 11, 2001. They are mostly made in response to the reactions of the US government and its “coalition of the willing” to these tragic events. When bombs fell over Afghanistan, I was wondering what Afghan people might have to tell us. I remembered the unsolicited political commentaries added by the embroiderers of the works of Alighiero Boetti as well as the traditional Afghani hand-knit carpets that feature tanks and Kalaschnikovs in place of traditional motifs. I envisioned Afghan Dialogs, a series of silk embroideries with reactions by Afghanis to network logos, headlines, names of conflicts and military operations that we have now come to know for selling, branding, justifying, authenticating and even cheerleading belligerent news content. I encountered very generous people Pashtuns at a New York Kebab shop who helped me to organize the production of these works. My preparatory materials including instructions to write in reaction to these logos were taken to the embattled region to be made and then to return to New York City about ten to fourteen months later. The first shipment of work returned without any added comments on them due to miscommunications. The following embroideries returned with individual comments although I was never able to clearly find out who was responsible for each inscription. The last shipment was confiscated by Pakistani custom agents. Though I was asking for any kind of comments, political as well as private ones, I only received political commentaries with no additional elements added. The only exception was a praying hand stitched into one of the margins.

All reactions I received are the result of an anonymous dialog work and are not my brainchild. I am therefore not automatically sharing any of their meaning. I don’t defend them and I don’ t reject them, I only consider them as results of this dialog work. Some results were insultingly anti-Semitic or directly inciting hatred and are therefore not used by me or published in this context. Following are all the replies listed of works shown in Vienna. AMERICA STRIKES BACK If America is hurting others, it should first find out how much pain it can take herself; NEXT TARGET? G8 members should make their decisions wisely; NEXT TARGET? Attacking Muslim countries, America should respect at least American opposition; LATEST DEVELOMPMENTS The life of Pharaoh is a lesson for the world till doomsday; HOMELAND SECURITY The entire Muslim world is with America against terrorism; AMONG THE RUINS With the attacks on Afghanistan, did America prove to be a peaceful nation? AMERICA AT WAR To finish and destroy terrorism, the entire Muslim world is with America; HOMELAND SECURITY The entire Muslim world is with America against terrorism; LIVE, LIVE, LIVE …EVIL What can helpless people do except to pray that the almighty gives us power and strength to bear these difficulties and take care of us. Because the whole world is chasing us you should make some arrangement for our safety.