The Black Shroud

In some Islamic cultures, a black shroud inscribed with Quranic verses symbolizes mourning, honours the deceased, and invokes spiritual protection and mercy. In this self-portrait, the black shroud represents both the artist's identity and their experience in a patriarchal Middle Eastern environment shaped by religious and social pressures. It conveys the weight of societal expectations around marriage, children, and preserving family names through the concealment of one's true identity, as well as the extent to which one might go to attain the final honour of this shroud.