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Artist's Statement
Born a war refugee during a bloody Algerian struggle for
independence pitting the European colonialist Uberman
against the despised Arab native, I was always acutely
aware of Western imperialism and my work invariably
gravitates towards the political - more often than not
towards the issues of Palestine and now Iraq, two Arab
lands still suffering from Western colonialism, racism and
demonization.
My sculpture "Gas Christ" is an ironic statement on the
ongoing reconquest of Arab lands by a new wave of Western
"civilizators" come - once again - to bring Democracy and
Freedom into the heart of darkness. This work was of
course prompted by the infamous Abu Ghraib photo of a
hooded Iraqi being tortured by U.S. troops.
Beyond the torturers' obvious intentions, the hood around
the Iraqi's head is also emblematic of the West's
self-serving view of native "Orientals" as interchangeable
savages without substantial individuality - dehumanization
being a logical prerequisite for the domination of an
entire population. This hooded figure image is the perfect
embodiment of the racist, orientalist view of the Arab as
objectified stereotype rather than full-fledged human
being.
In addition, the obvious male/dominator/conqueror vs.
feminized/dominated/conquered sado-masochistic overtones
echo the sexual projections manifest in a myriad works by
European and American artists of the nineteenth century -
the so-called "Orient" serving as a repository for Western
male/missionary sexual fantasies about vast virgin lands
replete with prodigiously sexualized yet passively
acquiescent savages uninhibited by Christian/civilized
norms. Déjà vu all over again?
The title of my "Gas Christ," of course, alludes to Andres
Serrano's controversial photograph "Piss Christ," in which
an image of the Savior was infamously submerged in urine.
Only in this case, it is petroleum - the new object of
Western desire, the fragrance du jour - which despoils the
symbolically crucified Iraqi. Christ, in this work, is not
cast in a negative light; he's identified with the
natives, some of whom happen to be Christians.
Generally speaking, my work is concerned with my roots in
the Maghreb, or Muslim North Africa, offering an
affirmative, intimate view from within rather than the
more familiar, superficial, distorted and propagandized
view from without; it is a view that might be labeled
"Oriental" (despite the obvious limitations of that term)
as opposed to "Orientalist." A solo exhibit of this work
is currently on display at the Center for Middle East
Studies, October 21- November 4, titled: "L'Art de Vivre:
Living Slowly and Well."
For more on my work, please visit
www.studiobendib.com and
www.bendib.com. |
About the Artist
Khalil Bendib is a resident of Berkeley, CA who grew up in
Morocco and Algeria and came to California at age 20 after
receiving his Bachelor's degree in Algiers.
After working as a political cartoonist with the Gannett
Newspaper chain for several years, In 1994, Mr. Bendib
completed his first major public monument, the "Alex Odeh
Memorial Statue," an 8-foot bronze at the Orange County's
seat of government, honoring the regional director of
Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee assassinated
in his Santa Ana office in 1985. He followed that with
"Ode To Diamond Bar," a 9-foot leaping bronze cougar at
the Summit Ridge public park in Diamond Bar, a suburb of
Los Angeles.
Among his more recent public artworks, are the Deir Yassin
Remembered Memorial Sculpture at the Hobart and Smith
Colleges in Upstate New York (bronze on granite,) a 40 ft
x 40 ft mural for the Arab Cultural Center in San
Francisco, and the GAIA Unveiled wall sculptures in
downtown Berkeley. He was also artist-in-residence at the
Legion of Honor Museum of Art in San Francisco, in the
Rodin gallery, in 2002. Mr. Bendib's work has been
exhibited and collected on five continents and it graces
numerous businesses, homes and gardens in the United
States and abroad.
For more on Khalil Bendib's work, please visit
www.studiobendib.com and
www.bendib.com. |
