Artist from the Archives: Wafaa Bilal.
Wafaa Bilal is an Iraqi-born artist that aims to shine a light on international politics and conflicts. Living in the "comfort zone" of the United States and having fled his "conflict zone" homeland of Iraq is frequently highlighted in his work. In December of 2008 Bilal came to EFA Project Space to give a talk about one of his previous performance pieces “Domestic Tension”. “Domestic Tension” involved Bilal being confined to a small gallery room with some furniture, a computer, and a robotic paintball gun that could be controlled on a website. Anyone could log on and control the gun and shoot whatever they wanted, whether it be the furniture, the walls, or Bilal himself. He was confined to this room for 31 days and the gun was available for access 24/7. “Domestic Tension” addressed the issue of internet use as an artistic platform as well as the ongoing battle over censorship.
"Domestic Tension", 2007.
Bilal has been in the center of a few censorship dilemmas, one of which was over his 2008 “Virtual Jihadi” video game. Bilal hacked the Al Qaeda version of a video game entitled “The Night of Bush Capturing” and put himself in the game as a suicide bomber who is eventually recruited by Al Qaeda to find and kill President Bush. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the city of Troy, New York both canceled his exhibitions on the game.
"Virtual Jihadi", 2008.
In 2008 the Chicago Tribune named Bilal "Artist of the Year" for "Domestic Tension". Bilal's work addresses the tension between the United States and his native country of Iraq. His work opens up a discussion about war and conflict, as well as censorship and technology.