Sharif Waked

Chick point, 2003

Sharif Waked was born to a Palestinian refugee family from the village of Mjedil. He studied from 1983―1986 at Haifa University, creative art and philosophy, and works in the media of drawing, paintings, book illustration and video. Sharif Wakeds Video Chic Point, 2003, exposes ‘fashion for Israeli checkpoints’, thus interrogating the rough treatment of Palestinian men at these check points. Set to the backdrop of a heavy rhythmic beat, men model present one design after another in an exploration of form and content. Zippers, weaved nets, hoods, and buttons serve the unifying theme of exposed flesh. Body parts—lower backs, chests, abdomens—peek through holes, gaps, and splits woven into readymade silk and cotton t-shirts, robes, and shirts. Suddenly the images change and the viewer is confronted with documentary photos showing men while traversing the Israeli check points at West Bank and Gaza, where they are forced by Israseli police to partly undress themselves in order be controlled.