BY SHAWN GHASSEMITARI
Egyptian artist Ghada Amer has recontextualized the QR code in a new solo exhibition at London’s Goodman Gallery. Born in Cairo and now based in New York City, Amer is typically known for creating striking mixed-media artwork that centers the female body as a “battleground” to explore themes pertaining identity, sexuality and Islamic culture.
In QR CODES REVISITED, however, she tapped into the ubiquity of what has now become a common form of language to meditate on how we universally communicate across cultures in the present. Mapped across the gallery space are a series of new woven tapestries that appear like mazes made of patchwork lettering in both English and Arabic. Hidden beneath each geometric layer are messages of prominent feminist voices from Eastern and Western activists — such as Simone de Beauvoir and Amina Sboui.
Within the Arabic text, the words “Freedom,” “Love,” “Security,” and “Peace” appear repeatedly to challenge the audiences “assumptions”, according to the gallery, around the connotations surrounding Islamic culture — serving as a reminder that these words are just as integral to the well-being of Arab societies.
“I don’t like QR codes,” Amer admits. “It’s an image that doesn’t mean anything and they are everywhere. I decided to develop these QR codes, but to give them a kind of meaning or to embed a code…a message you have to decipher.” The exhibition will be on view in London until December 22.
