What do you picture when you think of Muslims?

             

By John Cameron

To start I will briefly mention a few things about me. My name is John Cameron and I am from Canada. However I have spent the better half of my life now living in Dubai (almost 12 years).  I am currently in my senior year studying finance at AUD. I have never been particularly interested in art or religion so this course was a refreshing experience and did help me reconnect a bit with my artistic side and provide me with new perspectives.

           

            Now about the art, my piece is called ‘What do you picture? (when you think of Muslims)’. In a nutshell it is the outline of an AK47 assault rifle filled with headlines revolving around a common theme, which is all the positive things Muslims have done around the world in the recent past that has made headlines. These headlines include mentions of events such as Islamic leaders condemning the Charlie Hebdo attacks or Muslims in Egypt forming protective circles around Christians during the riots. Now the message I am trying to convey with this piece is how the world has generalized the middle east and Islamic communities of the world to be violent, dangerous, destructive and unreasonable but if you look at the reality of the situation it is only a small minority that even meet those criteria and the very vast majority stand for and desire what every person that scrutinizes Islam wants as well: peace. Now the shape of the gun, specifically the AK47 represents the overarching negative image that revolves around Islam throughout much of the world. I chose the AK47, as it is the weapon of choice in most of the Middle East when it comes to firearms and it is symbolic of the ‘enemy’ in terms of the western perspective. Within he gun outline the headlines cover the inside. Many headlines are cut short and might show just a word or two from the entire. This represents how little the world sees of the true good nature that is held by people in the Middle East and Islamic communities though out the world, essentially contrasting the clearness of the gun. Essentially it is a reflection of how narrow mindedness overcomes the truth and Islam has been plagued by it’s twisted portrayal throughout the world due to unjust perpetuation negative stereotypes.

            The dimensions of my piece are roughly 66 x 16 cm at the widest part. I made my piece by first starting with outlining the gun on thick construction paper then proceeding to cut it out. One cut out and trimmed to my liking I proceeded to cut out sections of printed pages covered in headlines and glue them on top of the gun cut out. I once again trimmed it until the desired appearance was achieved and then it was complete. I suppose my technique or style could be categorized as a collage, though I am not certain about the parameters that must be adhered to. As far as influences go I would be lying if I named someone as a direct inspiration for the piece, I pretty much came up with the idea on my own and just worked to try and create what I pictured in my mind.