Smurfistan

Friday january 16th at 8 p.m.

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Jamelie Hassan’s installation entitled Smurfistan is a new version of a work she created at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 2002. Using various objects and symbolism, she parallels the room of a young child as a social laboratory. It is in this calamity of children’s toys – in this case her son Tariq’s – where soldiers, cowboys, dragons, dinosaurs and Smurfs fight and dispute with each other. These Smurfs, which sport their traditional white caps, seem to vaguely resemble a Muslim attire. Similar to her previous projects, Hassan focuses on the world of a child, learning situations and the rupture of socio-cultural norms. A child learns to (re)create his universe by imitating reality. However, what values and models does today’s western society offer to a Muslim child of Lebanese descent?

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