Student Activities Center

The work of Nzingah Muhammad addresses the many facets of the artist and the forces that pull her. Beginning with portraits of her extended family of 30 siblings and five mothers, Muhammad addresses the issue of a polygamous Muslim family within the context of contemporary Brooklyn, where she was raised. As the issue of being Muslim in the United States became more and more loaded, particularly after September 11, 2001, she began a body of work that addresses the individual as an object under suspicion. Objects of Investigation treats the individuals as both human and suspect; the prayer beads serve not as religious object but as evidence.

Throughout her work the many elements that make her up are confronted: Woman, Muslim, African-American, Artist. The retention of a humanity and poise challenges the viewer to see not only the issues of identity. Instead, and perhaps above all else, what results is the self-interrogation of an individual in a context simultaneously political and social, artistic and human.

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