Hend Al-Mansour: Women, Domestic Spaces, and Islamic Art

Ms. Al-Mansour, welcome to the Baram House! Please give our readers a short introduction.

I am a screen-printer and an installation artist and now, trying to be an animator as well. My work is influenced by Islamic art and shaped by my Arabian aesthetics. I make images of powerful women within a geometric design, henna patterns and Arabic calligraphy.

Tell us a little about your artistic influences. What subjects inspire you as a visual artist? What are the motivations behind your work?

My inspiration comes from my childhood memories of women in my family and my community. My work examines the gender hierarchies in Arab culture where I grew up. I am intrigued by women's domestic spaces and the clandestine communities that thrive there. In addition, moving to the United States made me conscious of a new identity. I now belong to a marginalized minority which made me turn back to my heritage. I draw on Islamic art and architecture to portray social practices in my former home.

Our April theme is “Mother,” in both maternal and environmental senses. What does “motherhood” or “womanhood” mean to you?

My own mother understood the gender discrimination from early age. She instilled in me this awareness and raised me to be strong to do something about it.  She is a role model to me. One of the “Great Mother” archetypes that inspire me is Al-Ka’ba. She is the unnamed Islamic Goddess. She has a feminine pronoun, a dress and a veil. People circumambulate and kiss her day and night.

What challenges have you faced as an artist and how did you overcome them?

There are stimulating challenges that motivate me to make art and there are challenges that stood in the way. The motivating challenges are the stagnation of Islamic dogmas and failure of the contemporary scholarship to be creative in connecting to today’s life. This includes gender discrimination, sexuality taboos and accepting the other as equal.

The ones that stood in the way are related to time management, marginalization as an artist of color and not enough general understanding of the value of art.

What do you see as the major limitations for artists trying to make it in today’s world?

Competition, there are so many of us. And so many are very good. Unfortunately, not all the good artists are visible and not all the well-known ones are good. After all, who can define good art? But I am realizing more and more that networking and socializing within the art world is a key factor in getting known and getting invited to exhibitions. Some of us, including me, are not talented in that area. It doesn’t help that gatekeepers are differential to those who are eloquent and charismatic. Needless to say, there is a big gender gap in artists’ opportunities.

Your work is vibrant with a diversity of pattern and color. Can you tell us more about your media and process?

My work unfolds across a range of media: screen-printing, drawing, sculpture and installation. My palette plays with vibrant reds, yellows, and hot pinks that alternate with majestic gold, purple, and blue. Occasionally I go monochrome with only henna. Using rolls of printed fabric or paper, I build spaces and passages that feature murals, small sculptures, and soundtracks based on interviews with Arab Minnesotan women. More recently, I have been experimenting with video animation. My next goal is to project realistic images interlaced with animated elements of kaleidoscopic drawings. The animations take viewers on a visual journey that mixes the beauty of Islamic geometric design with human emotions like anger, curiosity, and playfulness. I plan to project the videos onto or inside 3D installations to heighten audience interactivity. Ultimately, my work invites moments of connection and recognition for Arab and non-Arab audiences.