Une Generation de Femmes thumbnail 1

Une Generation de Femmes

Wallpaper
1997 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Zineb Sedira was brought up in an Islamic household in a largely secular and Christian European society and became very aware of cultural difference first hand. Her work questions the patriarchal qualities of Islamic society but also the way Islam has been interpreted or 'constructed', as a concept, by the West.

In this piece, which was designed to cover the walls of a room, and thus be all enveloping, the abstract geometric pattern of typical Islamic decorative panels has been infiltrated, with the aid of computer, with images of herself, mother, grandmother and daughter, suggesting the key, if nearly invisible, presence of the feminine in Islamic society.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleUne Generation de Femmes (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Screenprint
Brief description
Zineb Sedira: Wallpaper, 'Une Generation de Femmes', 1997. Screenprint.
Physical description
Roll of wallpaper, colour predominantly blue with white, red and a little green, overall Islamic, geometric pattern with images of faces and eyes in spaces between the lines.
Dimensions
  • Length: 1000cm
  • Width: 71.3cm
Gallery label
(01/07/2023)
A Generation of Women

Zineb Sedira added pictures of herself, her mother, grandmother and daughter to the traditional Islamic pattern on this wallpaper. She wanted her art to make women more visible in Islamic life.

Made by Zineb Sedira
1997
London
Screenprint on paper
Museum no. E.2319-1997

[Young V&A, Imagine Gallery, This is Me, short object label]
Subjects depicted
Summary
Zineb Sedira was brought up in an Islamic household in a largely secular and Christian European society and became very aware of cultural difference first hand. Her work questions the patriarchal qualities of Islamic society but also the way Islam has been interpreted or 'constructed', as a concept, by the West.

In this piece, which was designed to cover the walls of a room, and thus be all enveloping, the abstract geometric pattern of typical Islamic decorative panels has been infiltrated, with the aid of computer, with images of herself, mother, grandmother and daughter, suggesting the key, if nearly invisible, presence of the feminine in Islamic society.
Bibliographic reference
From Where - to Here, Art from London, Konsthallen Goteborg Museum, Sweden. Curator Henry Meyric Hughes. 1999. Out of the Blue, Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow Museums, Scotland. 1997
Collection
Accession number
E.2319-1997

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Record createdDecember 31, 2003
Record URL
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