F-1

(2019)

Building on Fredric Jameson's critical theory, my written\visual dissertation examines how the concept of “the aesthetics of cognitive mapping” was used to uncover overlooked political, economic, social and cultural dimensions behind my artistic engagement with Islamic patterns. Using a critically informed variant of arts-based research (ABR), I explored the complexity of the interconnected economic, social, political and aesthetic realities informing my positionality as a Muslim Saudi female artist/research completing her dissertation in a Western country. Particularly, my work revealed how certain global forces (including capitalist relations between countries, as well as global postmodern cultural influences) shape the processes of appropriation and re-signification of patterning appropriated from Islamic aesthetics. This research culminated in a body of artwork for a solo exhibition entitled F-1 at Paul Voertman’s Gallery at the College of Visual Arts and Design at the University of North Texas located in Denton, Texas. 

The title F-1 is based on my visa status in the United States. The exhibition consists of three major works that are structured based on the philosophical concepts Jameson draws from psychoanalysis.