The artist

Kabir Mokamel was born in Afghanistan in 1968 and came to Australia as a refugee in 1991. He has lived in Canberra since 1997 when he came to study Graphic Design at the University of Canberra. Kabir’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Diploma in Fine Arts from Seaforth TAFE, Sydney where he majored in painting.

Kabir has produced graphic art designs for posters and publications. Much of his graphic art works and paintings have focussed on issues which have surrounded his life including the war and suffering in Afghanistan. Kabir’s work mostly reflects the horrific nature of the status of woman in Afghanistan.

The exhibition

Behind the Veil explores the artists’ personal reflection on his recent return to Afghanistan through a series of paintings, video installation and text. Afghanistan has been a war zone for most of the artist’s life. Kabir left Afghanistan in 1989. During the on-going war his family was divided, forcing family members to flee their homeland and take refuge in other parts of the world.

Kabir’s recent paintings are based on the artist’s experience and exploration of his homeland, returning as an adult with a new vision and realisation resulting in a surreal interpretation of the desperate status of the women and the general state of the country. The works show how the artist views life in Afghanistan before, during and after the oppressive Taliban rule.

Behind the Veil has been developed as an exhibition that describes the artist’s personal journey and includes edited video footage filmed while travelling during the artist’s recent trip to Afghanistan. The installation draws upon some of the themes that are distinct in Kabir’s work: images of shrouded women; images of his mother; childhood memories and dreams of safety against a climate of war; details of the earth itself- parched and eroded landscapes; the sand colours of the earth; and a surreal interpretation of the shrouding of all things by the Taliban.

Kabir’s paintings form a coherent visual story. It touches the soul through the artist’s direct and honest approach to a subject involving the artist’s first hand experience of a war torn country. This is a deeply moving exhibition including some haunting images that can not be easily forgotten.

Behind the Veil is supported by the Cultural & Educational Centre of Afghanistan (CECA) and the ACT Multicultural Arts Officer.

BEHIND THE VEIL
Works of Kabir Mokamel

Venue: Cultural and Educational Centre of Afghanistan (CECA)
Level 1, 39 Geils Court, Deakin West Canberra ACT 2600
Tel (02) 62827311
Exhibition: 8 - 21 March 2003
Open: Wednesday-Saturday 11am-3pm