It’s a Man’s World
Shurooq Amin's 2012 series It's a Man's World takes over where her previous series Society Girls left off –– exploring the other side of Middle Eastern society: men. The title's irony is not lost in the images, most of which depict a hedonistic and taboo world of men. The images portray the dichotomy of the Arab man and his search for identity in a culture steeped in paradox. Amin addresses current political dilemmas and parodies in a society that cannot exist without double standards, hypocrisy, and secret, private lives. This hypocrisy, of course, as explored in Amin's Society Girls, is not the sole possession of men in the Middle East. After all, we are, by the very nature of our traumatized culture, a society that is rife with hypocrisy. The series does not judge or presume what is right or wrong; in fact, though some images may appear offensive or negative in nature, they may paradoxically be viewed as celebrations of life and stolen freedoms amidst hopelessness. People react rebelliously when forced into a corner such as in war. People continue to socialize to the point of forgetfulness, so it is with this silent cultural war that we are facing: the threat to progress and personal freedom. Amin's characters are taking back their rights and, because human nature is what it is, they are taking them to the extremes, because that's what people do when something is forbidden. The paintings merely serve as a mirror reflecting two paradoxical societies co-existing.
Born to a Kuwaiti father and Syrian mother, Shurooq Amin is a mixed-media interdisciplinary artist and Anglophone poet whose purpose is to investigate positive change in society. Amin explores, expresses and portrays Arab sociopolitical taboo issues in her art and poetry. She has a PhD in Ekphrasis – the relationship between art and poetry – and has been published and anthologized internationally. She has been a guest speaker at various universities, a judge for various events and numerous forums such as the Global Economic Forum: Women in Leadership, and an examiner at various Viva Voces. Amin has had 14 solo exhibitions, more than 45 group exhibitions, her paintings have been sold at auctions, completed private and public commissions, has been awarded prizes locally and internationally, and shown at biennales and art fairs, including the Venice Biennale and Christie’s auction house.
Amin is also the first Kuwaiti to be nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize in December 2007 in the U.S.A. Her work has regularly been banned in her native Kuwait, but she is resilient, consistent and uncensored in her message to defy hypocrisy in Arab society and push dogmatic ideologies towards a more tolerant, just, and accepting future.
In her spare time, Amin accumulates certificates and licenses in Pilates, Yoga, Scuba Diving, Boating, Interior Decorating, and playing board games with her four children. Follow her on Instagram @shurooqamin