This artwork by Lalla Essaydi shows a photograph of veiled women against a foreground of Arabic calligraphy. The fabric on the women and background is covered with text written in henna. Essaydi chooses henna as a medium for her calligraphy as henna is often used for ceremonial events or in rites of passage for women in the Islamic world. She uses the veil of the women as a page and writes directly on the veil then drapes it on her photography subjects. The intent is to write in such an abstract form that one does not always see the text. Sometimes she blurs out the text – a commentary on the way in which women are often kept on the periphery. The written Arabic text is not religious, but rather the musings of Essaydi in a diary format. It is part of an ongoing series in which the women become the chapters and pages. The text is incomplete - intentionally creating multiple and discontinuous threads that echo the disjointed voices of the women around West Asia. Essaydi's art often combines Islamic calligraphy with representations of the female body. It addresses the complex reality of Arab female identity from the unique perspective of personal experience. In much of her work, she returns to her Moroccan childhood, looking back on it as an adult. Her paintings often appropriate Orientalist imagery from the Western painting tradition, thereby inviting viewers to reconsider the Orientalist mythology.
