Encompass at the Canberra Islamic Centre

Fatima Killeen

The Canberra Islamic Centre (CIC) provides a podium for the artists’ community in Canberra. This year’s exhibition leading up to the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the National Multicultural Festival in February 2023 was titled Encompass, a theme that echoed the coming together of artistic diversity with local artists jointly exhibiting their artworks to celebrate and embrace their artistic talent and life experience.

All the artists in the exhibition come from different parts of the world, including Palestine, Morocco, Pakistan and Bangladesh but they all reside in Canberra. The exhibition encompassed both established as well as emerging artists.

The Encompass exhibition included seven women artists: Aneeta Bano, Maryam Hassan, Suheir Zeidan, Tahmina Ali, Tehmina Rahman, Farah Jabran Rao and Fatima Killeen.

Working as a painter and printmaker, my work is inspired by my culture as a migrant of Arab and Muslim descent living in Australia. Islamic design, Arabic calligraphy and Moroccan history with its Andalusian heritage all give identity to my work.

My artworks in Encompass communicate a cultural and spiritual perspective with a universal message of peace that speaks to a diverse population.

I used embossed paper for the Islamic arch as it remembers the human figure with collage into sand and acrylic emulating tiles and segments of walls with a message in Arabic stating “The only conqueror is God”.

The hands on doors is a welcoming gesture to guests as the text in Arabic reads “Welcome to our home”. The use of lace within the work is a way of connecting the stories paying tribute to women’s skills.

Living in Canberra fills me with memories of Morocco and feelings of isolation from my family. Every now and then I feel as though I am somewhere between here and there.

My work is a search for balance between the intricacy of Islamic design and the openness of the Australian landscape. The conjunction of the two places creates a bundle of possibilities on which I build fragmented narratives.

Another work is a coll0graph print titled El Kanghar Uluru at dusk is inspired by the iconic Australian creature transposed in Arabic to the word Kangaroo on a background of Islamic pattern of Arab-Andalusian heritage (the mob of Kangaroos show up faithfully on the hills behind our home each day). The work is a celebration of beauty and aspects of generosity…..it is home, wherever that maybe.

Encompass exhibition was held on 10/11/12 February 2023 at Canberra Islamic Centre, 221 Clive Steel Avenue, Monash ACT.

Fatima Killeen is an award-winning Moroccan artist with acquisitions at Australian War Memorial, ANU, Human Rights Commission, Islamic Museum of Australia, National Museum of Australia, La Trobe University.