Exhibitions

Fawzia Khan, 'Becoming Visible'

Redepenning Gallery

May 13 - June 19, 2021

Opening Reception: Thursday, May 13, 6 - 8pm

I am a practicing artist who has embraced art as a second career. A Pakistani-American born in Nigeria, I became a U.S. citizen at age 18. Like many child immigrants, I feel I have a foot in more than one culture but do not wholly belong to any. I grew up with certain expectations of my role as a daughter, wife, and mother. Identity, gender roles, veils and barriers are themes that run through my art.

I have made several works about the burka and niqab, the robes and face veils that some Muslim women wear. Covering a woman’s face makes her anonymous and invisible. Patriarchy is less obvious in western society, but exists nonetheless. For example, in Minnesota we still have not ratified the Equal Rights Amendment. Even though western women may not wear the niqab, their accomplishments are still undervalued.

I am the fortunate recipient of a 2020 Minnesota Artist Initiative Grant. I am looking for a venue to exhibit my finished work. For this installation, I plan to select 40 Minnesotan women (including transwomen and nonbinary individuals) from various walks of life, from the original inhabitants to our newest immigrants and interview them about what they consider their accomplishments to be. I will take photos of them and embroider images of their eyes on flour sack dishtowels, a symbol of traditional gender roles, and a reference to the niqab. I will use embroidery as a metaphor for the laborious nature of unacknowledged “women’s work.” The work will be hung at eye level around a room so that upon entering, the viewer becomes “the viewed.” With this relationship reversal, the women become visible. The installation will also incorporate the contributions of these women to Minnesota. The work will allow audiences to see the strengths and contributions of these women to Minnesota and acknowledge the many roles women play today.