Hayv Kahraman - Contemporary Artists

Heads On Plate

Heads On Plate The Saatchi Gallery
 

Hayv Kahraman

Heads On Plate

2008
Oil on linen

173 x 106.5 cm

The Sacrifice of the Lamb is a legend which is recorded both in the Quran and the Bible. Abraham was told by God in a vision to sacrifice his only son as proof of his unquestioning devotion. In seeing the extent of Abraham’s faith God allows the substitution of a ram in the boy’s place. This event is symbolically repeated during the most important Muslim holiday where lambs are sacrificed as part of religious celebrations and feasts. Kahraman illustrates this fable from a woman’s perspective, controversially appropriating the sacred masculine theme to assert feminist equality. In these paintings the sacrificed lambs might also be metaphorically understood in relation to the practice of ‘honour’ killings.
 
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