Covered

Covered aims to shed light on identity. In this portfolio, Razan photographs women in hijab, or Islamic headdress to bring them to the spotlight. She wants her pieces to give these women the opportunity to effectively symbolize themselves as who they truly are- peaceful individuals who are aiming to spark positive change in the world. Her work explores the relationship between tolerance and acceptance.  Learning to accept one another for their true being will help develop any community with growth and positive change.

With influences such as the tragedy of the Chapel Hill shooting, she was inspired to dispel the myths about American Muslims. The stereotypes surrounding American Muslims have been difficult to eliminate. Although there are many efforts to curb stereotyping Muslim women, art hasn't been utilized much to tell the stories of American Muslim women and their experiences. She wishes to use an artistic approach to break these racial barriers. Each media type used in her work represents a new idea or belief. For example, she used googly eyes in Real Eyes Realize Real Lies I and Real Eyes Realize Real Lies II to represent the constant stares from the eyes of the world. She used specific newspaper prints in American Role Models and Breaking News to symbolize the media’s negative attention and focus on Muslims. She used mirrors as backgrounds in Grace and The Only Reflection to enable viewers to see themselves wrapped into a hijab and used glitter in Make a Mark to signify the distinctiveness of a hijab because glitter is something easily found appealing and special.