Art, community and social media in Maysaloun Faraj’s contemporary work

Abstract

In this joint work, a central argument is that responses to art – such as commentary on paintings – construct narratives that run parallel to these artistic works. The commentaries are not ‘attached’ to the works, and although much of their appeal is due to being inspired by the artworks, they still retain degrees of autonomy and independence. The select paintings by Maysaloun Faraj and the commentary on these paintings by Shakir Mustafa will examine ways of narrativizing art to reflect on the urge to create, receive, interpret and circulate cultural products. What makes such an urge even more telling is the environment in which it emerges. The paintings that inspired commentary appeared on a group Facebook site dedicated to making home a subject for drawings and paintings during the COVID-19 shutdown. In its various physical and metaphorical facets, home thus becomes a locale for scrutinizing issues of belonging to a certain place and the possibilities of creating communal connections beyond that space. Central to our inquiry is investigating the impact of generating and disseminating cultural works in a public domain and at a globally stressful time. That these works are by individuals of Iraqi descent living in the United Kingdom and the United States is significant in showing the nature and extent of discursive dialogues involving multiple cultural backgrounds. Negotiating a culture of origin that is specifically Iraqi in fluid and global settings such as those of the current pandemic will certainly problematize notions of origins and belonging. It becomes difficult at times to draw lines between components of identity, and at times like these, cultural analysis flourishes. In our paintings and commentary, we seek to reflect on the dynamics of belonging and departures, specifically when they occur in a global and communal experience that defies borders.