Halal
Medium
Ceramics and light
Description
“I have used soil from Chautauqua to create a plate. I dug the clay with my own hands, and I prepared and fired it to serve a meal. Is this Halal (according to Sharia)? Is this permitted? Who am I to touch this earth? Do I even have a right to stand on the ground from which this came?” Racism shapes the very words our politics speak today, and it underlies a broader history of exclusion in the U.S that many Americans overlook. This work is a response to the phrase "Go Back to Your Country."About this Artist
Raheleh Filsoofi
Raheleh Filsoofi is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work incorporates ancient and contemporary media such as ceramics, poetry, ambient sound, and video and addresses issues regarding borders, immigration, and inter-cultural communications. She gives participants the opportunity to explore the dynamics of the ceramic process and the expressive quality of the clay medium, while at the same time emphasizing art as a means of social engagement. Through a series of scaffolded individual and collaborative projects, participants develop skills in the artistic conceptualization and a creative process that is never final. Current projects focus on local natural resources as the physical and symbolic essence of place and the values of community and stewardship. Through the projects, we sensitize ourselves to an awareness of Nature and its relation to the human condition. Projects in making are expanded through a curatorial project and conference discussions on the contributions of ceramics to socially engaged art.
View Full Artist Bio
Contact Us
For inquiries, comments, and acquisitions, please feel free to contact us any time. We welcome your input and conversation.