TRADITIONAL AMULET NECKLACES, BRACELETS OR OTHER WEARABLES AND CARRY-ITEMS HISTORICALLY USED TO STORE INCANTATIONS AND PRAYERS AGAINST SPIRITUAL EVILS. OFTEN NODDING TO THE LIKENESS OF CERTAIN SAINTS IN SUFI ISLAM FOR PROTECTION IN THE FORM OF IMAGES ON HOME WALLS OR THE WINDOWS OF CARS. IN THE MODERN CONTEXT, FOLLOWERS OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST SUFI MURSHIDS OFTEN DON THEIR SHEIKH’S FACE AS THEIR MOBILE LOCK SCREEN, EVEN EDITING THEIR FACES INTO COSMIC INTERGALACTIC SETTINGS. I THUS CREATED MY OWN LOCK SCREENS OF VARIOUS WIDELY FOLLOWED SHEIKHS FROM SENEGAL, YEMEN, PAKISTAN, TURKEY AND INDONESIA, RESPECTIVELY, AND SOURCED EDITS FROM THEIR FOLLOWERS: SUPERIMPOSING THESE IMAGES ONTO APPLE, XIAOMI, OPPO AND VIVO HOMESCREENS.

THESE IMAGES SIT ATTACHED TO PLASTIC PHONE SCREEN PROTECTORS, BOUGHT FROM ONLINE CHINESE MARKETPLACES: MUSING ON THE SHIFTING OF MUSLIM-WORLD MARKET DEMOGRAPHICS TOWARDS CERTAIN MOBILE PHONE MANUFACTURERS AND INTERFACES. WHAT RESULTS ARE NOT ONLY UNIQUE DIGITAL SPIRITUAL LANGUAGES ON VARIOUS UI’S (ISLAMIC NUMEROLOGY PASSCODES OR ALLAH SHAPED PATTERN LOCKS) BUT ALSO SUBSEQUENT EXPANSIONS AND CONTRACTIONS IN THE MANUFACTURER NATIONS’ GEOPOLITICAL SOFTPOWER UMBRELLAS, CHARGED BY MUSLIM PURCHASING POWER. THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN RESULTING KITSCH FRESHIE-SUFI LOCK SCREEN AESTHETICS AND SUBSEQUENT DEVOTIONAL RITES WHICH EMERGE TOWARDS THESE NEW DIGITAL AMULETS BECOMES A SITE OF INTEREST FOR THE ARTIST AND THIS WORK.

FROM L-R: PARADISE AHMADOU BAMBA, GAMER THUMBNAIL HABIB UMAR, WHITEFACE ILYAS QADRI, INTERGALACTIC NAZIM HAQQANI & ALSO WHITEFACE MUHAMMAD ZAINI ABDUL GHANI

FROM: PT. 1 — IBEARWITNESS10

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