"Artists too frightened to tackle radical Islam,"
by Ben Hoyle in the Times
Britain’s contemporary artists are fêted around the world for their willingness to shock but fear is preventing them from tackling Islamic fundamentalism. Grayson Perry said that he had consciously avoided commenting on radical Islam in his otherwise highly provocative body of work because of the threat of reprisals.
The Secret meeting series originated from a discussion about how the burka, due to its full body coverage, could be worn to conceal and disguise. The series suggests unknown lovers in potentially different forms of love.
There is a suggestion that planting these burka wearing ‘lovers’ into the 17th Century English landscape, a time known for the British Empire’s rule of the world, represents conventional society seeking to destroy real love. This is represented in the architecture and man-made landscapes that surround the self consumed lovers.
The series looks to deal with the current Islamophobia evident across Europe and the paradoxical prejudice to same sex relations as well as affection in Islamic fundamentalism. The work shows that love is a powerful force that cannot be contained by any conventional social code, however much it maybe forbidden or frowned upon.