Kubra khademi interview paris 13 07 16
Armor by kubra khademi
Life
Kubra Khademi (Born 1989) is an Afghan performance artist, based in Paris. Through her practice, Khademi explores her life as a refugee and a woman. She studied fine arts at Kabul University, before attending Beaconhouse National University in Lahore, Pakistan on scholarship. In Lahore she began to create public performance, a practice she continued upon her return to Kabul, where her work actively responded to a society dominated by extreme patriarchal politics. After performing her piece Armor (2015), Khademi was forced to flee Afghanistan due to a fatwa and death threats. She is currently living and working in Paris.
Contents
- Kubra khademi interview paris 13 07 16
- Armor by kubra khademi
- Life
- Kubra Pedestrian SignKubra et les bonhommes pitons 2016
- Eternal trial 2015
- Armor 2015
- Reception
- References
Kubra & Pedestrian Sign/Kubra et les bonhommes piétons (2016)
In this video work Khademi walks the streets of Paris dressed as a pedestrian crossing sign. In place of green or red man, Khademi's crossing sign displays a female figure. The costume consists of a black dress and a light up pedestrian box affixed to her head; in the piece Khademi is seen standing next to street signs and adding the female figure to the urban landscape.
Eternal trial (2015)
Eternal Trial is a video performance that consists of a long shot of Khademi walking through an empty field in Noyers, France. As she comes closer to the camera, it is revealed that she is picking poppies off a white dress and discarding them in the field behind her.
Armor (2015)
The project consisted of walk through the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan. The artist was dressed in a metal armor which emphasised her body parts. Underneath the armor, Khademi worn traditional hijab; after she removed the armor she was attacked by the male audience and had to seek refuge in her friends car. Performance lasted only 8 minutes but took weeks to prepare for. The project was inspired by Kubra's personal experience from childhood and addressed the issue of sexual harassment that women in Afghanistan face on a daily bases.
The armor represented both: the protection of female sexuality and the problem of sexual harassment they experience. Khademi explained that the performance explored her life as a woman and the life limitations which come with being a woman in Afghanistan.
After the performance, Khademi received many threats and abusive messages through all kind of social media what, she claimed emphasised the imbalance in Afghan society and the problem of extreme patriarchy. Due to all the threats she received, she was forced to exiled from Afghanistan.
Reception
In 2016 she was awarded an MFA Scholarship at Pantheon Sorbonne University and was given the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Letter by the Ministry of French Culture.
She was recently a featured artist at WALKING WOMEN (2016), presented by the Walking Artists Network at Somerset House in London.