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. THE DECISIONS OF INDONESIAN MUSLIMS TO BUY OPPOS INSTEAD OF IPHONES, RESULT IN NEW INTERFACE-BASED MACRO DIGITAL/SPIRITUAL LANGUAGES (ISLAMIC NUMEROLOGISED PASSCODES & CALIGRAPHIC SHAPED PATTERN LOCKS). MEANWHILE, MUSLIM PURCHASING POWER FUELS NEW SOFT POWER UMBRELLAS. THE INTERSECTION BECOMES A SITE OF INTEREST FOR THE ARTIST IN 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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