“For the purposes of this decision, she will refer to him as John Doe.”
(Taken from personal transcript of the online hearing given by Ontario superior court justice, Anne Molloy, March 3, 2021)
(Taken from personal transcript of the online hearing given by Ontario superior court justice, Anne Molloy, March 3, 2021)
The Two Matriarchs (2018), Cardboard, gold-painted nails, acrylic on canvas, 48" x 48"
A Hail Mary, 2023
Mixed Media: Cardboard, gold nails, acrylic on canvas, (4' x 4')
Video (color, sound, 10 mins 30 sec)
Video (color, sound, 10 mins 30 sec)
On April 23, 2018, Toronto witnessed one of Canada's deadliest mass murder attacks. The widely reported incident is now famously known as the Toronto Van Attack. My grandfather, who was visiting my newly immigrated mother, was one of the victims who lost their lives that day.
A Hail Mary is one part still image, one part moving image; a large-scale portrait of my mother and grandmother painted in 2018, which later becomes the focal point of the short-experimental video work produced five years later. The painting serves as a catalyst for creating conversations, with my family and in the video. Here, the process of painting goes beyond the canvas, and what lies within the painted faces are filmed fragments of ‘home.’ The video was shot in Amman and Toronto.
"Hail Mary'' can take on both the meaning of a Christian prayer and an unsuccessful plan; two elements that interweave into this story. While my grandfather’s death sets the stage in the painting and video, it is the challenges of Canadian immigration that takes center stage, alongside the significance of religious faith for coping during a time of moving and mourning.
A Hail Mary was commissioned by the Toronto Arab Film Festival with support from Trinity Square Video.
Exhibited at the Window Art Gallery, DIFFUSION Festival, Kuala Lumpur Experimental Film + Music Festival, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology.