The Representation of Violence in the Middle East: Diasporic Interventions in the Work of Wafaa Bilal, Tammam Azzam, and Reza Aramesh

Abstract Presently, many states in the Middle East are experiencing instability and mass displacement due to political violence. In the wake of these upheavals, and particularly post 9/11, a spotlight has fallen on art from the region, and more specifically on art with violence and political conflict as theme. This article investigates the ways in which three artists in diaspora from the Middle East, namely Wafaa Bilal, Tammam Azzam, and Reza Aramesh, portray violence in their art, reflecting on the meaning of violence and opening up possibilities for reconsidering the representation of violence from this region. The conceptual sleight of hand in the work of the artists chosen for this thematic and contextual analysis offers insight into the experience and depiction of violence in their respective countries of origin in order to, arguably, dispel the often distorted and simplistic perception of the region and its troubles. This investigation includes a discussion of reductive depictions of violence in the Middle East by Western media, focusing on the historical, political, socioeconomic, and emotional factors that lead to such representations. Against the backdrop of the global proliferation of Islamophobic and xenophobic social relations, anti-immigration politics, and ongoing conflict, the work of the artists selected for discussion in this article foregrounds the emancipatory potential of art to challenge perceptions, negotiate identities, encourage collective memory, and reconcile trauma.