Sally Doing Her Makeup by Farah Al Qasimi
March 20, 2024
A girl lays across her bed, consumed by an array of blankets and pillows, and is met with her own gaze. Sally Doing Her Makeup is an introspection of Arab life, bringing a connection of religion and culture to metro Detroit. This photograph depicts a relaxed woman lying on her bed juxtaposed with an incredible amount of focus concentrated on the fine details of perfecting her eyeliner. The room is bathed in a natural white light, providing this photograph with an ethereal aura. The patterns clash with one another on a textile plane. Strown across the girls bed, on the pink comforter, you can find other makeup lying about, defining the time she’s spent on her bed.
The artist, Farah Al Qasimi, spent a month in Dearborn connecting with the Arab American community. The artist has expressed the interconnectedness between the Arab American immigrants. Al Quasimi conveys that home is fluid rather than geographical, defining that very statement in this work. The girl is in bed, assumably at home, feeling relaxed and comfortable. This work is one of ten works commisioned by the Wayne State University Art Collection by a grant from the Knight foundation in 2019. The ten works were displayed at Wayne State Univeristy in an exhibition titled “Brotherville”. Wayne State stands as a testimony to inclusivity within Detroit and metro Detroit.
Farah Al Qasimi is an extremely gifted artist, graduated with a BA as an Art Major, an MFA from Yale School of Art, and attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Al Quasimi is an internationally known artist with an array of solo and group exhibitions. Farah has also given various lectures, publications, awards, and residencies. She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.
Written by Colleen Sikorski