Iqra

Growing up as an Emirati girl in an English-speaking school, I faced challenges within the education system that left me feeling isolated and misunderstood. Placed in advanced Arabic-speaking classes despite my limited understanding of the language, I endured years of judgment and criticism from my peers. The resulting anxiety made simply entering the classroom a suffocating experience. This artwork reflects the weight of that judgment, with the central word, اقرأ (Iqra), meaning 'read,' symbolizing the pressure to measure up to societal expectations. The background images are actual photographs from the classrooms where I struggled. They serve as a tangible reminder of the spaces where I faced my fears and struggled to find my place. While the central subject is a representation of myself, encapsulating the personal nature of this narrative.