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Veil is the first publication to explore the representation of the veil – one of the most powerful symbols in contemporary visual culture – and serves as an essential starting point to establish a new international dialogue.

Extending possible interpretations of the veil and investigating the ambiguities and paradoxes expressed in contemporary arts practice, it provides both a social and an historic context to the veil’s multilayered symbolism.

Alongside newly commissioned essays by leading international scholars and works by contemporary visual artists, key historical texts trace a trajectory of writings across religions, cultures, genders and ages to reflect the breadth of conflicting and constantly shifting attitudes towards the veil.

Texts: Leila Ahmed, Jananne Al-Ani, David A. Bailey, Alison Donnell, Frantz Fanon, Reina Lewis, Hamid Naficy, Zineb Sedira, Ahdaf Soueif, Gilane Tawadros

Artists: Faisal Abdu’Allah, Kourush Adim, AES art group, Jananne Al-Ani, Ghada Amer, Farah Bajull, Samta Benyahia, Gaëtan de Clérambault, Marc Garanger, Shadafarin Ghadirian, Ghazel, Emily Jacir, Ramesh Kalkur, Majida Khattari, Shirin Neshat, Harold Offeh, Gillo Pontecorvo, Zineb Sedira, Elin Strand, Mitra Tabrizian

Published on occasion of Veil, an Iniva touring exhibition initiated by Zenib Sedira, developed by Jananne Al-Ani and Sedira, and curated by Al-Ani, David A. Bailey, Sedira and Gilane Tawadros

What people say

'Finally, a work that begins to do justice to the veil's layered meanings and protean transformations, through history down to our day - a very welcome publication.' Leila Ahmed Professor of Women's Studies in Religion, Harlem Divinity School fiasco
'This inventive and most innovative contribution to the critical discourse on the veil demonstrates the latest developments in visual studies and cultural theory, at a time when a neo form of Orientalism has resurfaced with full force. A must for students of contemporary visual culture, anthropology, history, as well as the literary disciplines.' Professor Salah Hassan Chair of Art History, Cornell University fiasco

Features

ISBN: 1-899846-35-2
192pp, softback, 220 x 220mm, 92 illustrations
Iniva in association with Modern Art Oxford, 2003