Habjouqa’s “Fragile Monsters: Arab Body Builders,” reflects the power and ferocity of mainstream masculinity, while simultaneously uncovering the fragility that lies beneath the men’s muscles and dominating stances. However, the alienation and loneliness permeating the images remind us that these marginalised identities have been rejected from society. His images reveal clandestine spaces in which suppressed expressions of male tenderness can be fulfilled. Photographers George Awde and Tanya Habjouqa both seek to address the overlooked issue of Arab masculinity by examining alternative forms of male identity away from the “limited narrative of Arab men’s linkage to war and violence” (Awde.) Their works present an alternative, unseen side of masculinity that is entrenched in sensitivity, emotion and, at some points, weakness.Īwde’s “Shifting Grounds” addresses the unspoken, forbidden lives of homosexual men. The very fact that the exhibition’s promotional photo is of a male subject instantly affirms the intention to deviate from what is expected, to rearrange and return with an entirely novel and fresh perspective on Arab identity. Reflections often fall upon women and the suppressed existence of their gender, with few endeavours to understand where men fit into this problem. The displayed works present a more personal picture of the Arab culture, diluting these governing stereotypes to reveal the true diversity of Arab identity. Lamia Gargash, whose work is currently on display, claims that, “The show is a challenge to typical media images of how the Middle East is portrayed.” Western interpretation sees a homogenous “Arab identity,” with religion, politics, and often extremism and conflict, all central to its definition.

The featured artists strive to uncover the deeply layered repertoire of Middle Eastern identities, while at the same time reflecting upon how identities are universally created, understood and maintained. A little less resolute than Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am,” the Bluecoat exhibition “I exist (in some way)” takes the latter half of this philosophical reasoning and expands on the age-old enquiry into human existence.

Bluecoats 2016 repertoire