AQIDAH/WAX

The artist's body was waxed in front of a live audience.

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Defying beauty standards and exploring the “un-natural” expectations of what’s beautiful and what is not was one of the main aspects of this performance.

Beauty through pain which reflects in the most basic act known to mankind starting in earliest civilizations around the world can be seen in something as simple and as “normal” as waxing.

Waxing is a process that many choose to go through in order to look much more appealing to others especially the opposite sex. It holds many deep and symbolic aspects that goes beyond

the idea of having a hairless body. It explores one’s sexuality and indicates in many cases your gender identity.

In this performance, which the artist named “Aqida” ( عقیدة†) they challenge the existent “taboo” and relationship

between femininity and masculinity, as well as emphasize the beauty expectation that not necessarily belong to their queer identity in the eyes of the crowd, who in this case are represented by the average person in a traditional society.

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(Photographs of the performance taken by: Sicilia Hashoul)