Veil : Veiling, Representation, and Contemporary Art

No single item of clothing has had more influence on Western images of Middle Eastern and North African women than the veil. Yet Veil is the first publication to explore the representation of the veil in contemporary visual culture. Extending possible interpretations of the veil and investigating the ambiguities and paradoxes expressed in contemporary arts practice, it provides both a social and historic context to the veil's multilayered symbolism. The visible and invisible topology of the veil, its symptoms and consequences, become a journey of discovery and self-discovery. Western writers, artists and photographers have dwelt endlessly on the mysteries concealed behind the veil. Shrouded in exoticism, it reveals the instinctive voyeuristic response to what is strange and Other. Alongside newly commissioned essays by leading international scholars and works by contemporary visual artists, key historical texts trace a trajectory of writings across religions, cultures, genders and ages to reflect the breadth of conflicting and constantly shifting attitudes towards the veil. Intended not only to challenge and disrupt populist images and ideas about the veil, Veil: Veiling, Representation and Contemporary Art serves as an essential starting point from which to establish a new international dialogue and further the debate in the arena of cultural diversity within the arts and culture of the twenty-first century. Book jacket.