Artworks

Ali Gharib connects the traditions of Islamic and Jewish prayer garments to symbolize unity and dialogue between the two faiths. Interlocking elements of the Star of David and the crescent moon form the central motif, processed ornamentally to represent the visual language of both religions. Employing contemporary pop aesthetics, the artist embeds his work within a consumer-oriented context while engaging with modern visual themes. Critically, Gharib draws on Theodor W. Adorno’s "Aesthetic Theory," viewing art as an opportunity for reflection and questioning the shadows of civilization. Gharib brings  Seyyed Hossein Nasr into this conversation — a thinker who emphasizes enlightenment through the metaphysical commonalities of Islam and Judaism — inviting viewers to reflect on shared values and traditions.

Self Portrait with Kafka is the third part of the collaboration of Ali Gharib and Shir Shoval-Simhoni following the zine and poem Siamese Twins which explores the political history of existing and fallen walls. 

In Self Portrait with Kafka, Shoval-Simhoni stitches a close-up of her own face with thread over used Sudoku sheets. The portrait emerges when seen from afar. However, from up close, the viewer is drawn into a tangle of numbers, scribbles, and thread. 

The work is inspired by Kafka’s short story The Great Wall of China – particularly his assessment of how piecemeal construction of the Great Wall was used to distract the builders from the larger power structures they reinforce. The work is backed with a similar portrait of Kafka. 

Zooming in and out of the work, the audience is also invited into Shoval-Simhoni's internal struggle to make sense of her identity in relation to the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Much like the workers in Kafka’s story, viewers are invited to focus on small fragments, assembling meaning from parts, but ultimately confronting the impossibility of seeing the full picture and finding themselves overwhelmed by the larger, incomprehensible forces at play.

Siamese Twins is a poem and zine inspired by the Franz Kafka’s short story, The Great Wall of China. Jointly, the two artists question the socio-political use of boundary walls. The zine is printed in three editions, each representing a wall in the Middle East.