Summer 2017

Under the Veil

Iman Bhatti

Iman Bhatti’s current body of work, “Under the Veil” explores the various ways in which the media represents veiled women, questioning the effect that these representations have on individuals and society. Bhatti examines the appropriation of traditional garments in pop culture and fashion, and seeks to investigate the representations employed in propaganda that create and reinforce stereotypes. Bhatti is particularly interested in the act of veiling as it relates to the representation of women and the construction of identity.

“Utilizing drapery as the subject, my work explores feelings such as isolation and anxiety, which have become associated with embodying the burqa in today’s media centered society. As a result, draped figures are made to interact with disparate environments in ways that represent drapery’s ability to both hide the body and reveal its submerged movements.

Through a mixed media approach, my work emerges as experimental images and large scale oil paintings that make use of layers to depict media transparency. They begin as posed photographs consisting of coloured lights projected onto figures shrouded in cloth. As a result, shadows emerge as second figures that reference another dimension of life. Through the pairing of colourless fabrics with polychromatic lights, the work aims to bring attention to both the burqa and the act of veiling. Exploring themes of identity, gender roles, orientalism, and resistance, it emphasizes the way in which exposure to images shapes perception.“

Iman Bhatti is a Pakistani born, Toronto based artist.
She recently graduated in April 2017 with a BFA in drawing and painting from the Ontario College of Art and Design.

For more of Iman’s work visit: imanbhatti.com, @imanbhatti
Iman can be contacted via imanbhattiart@gmail.com