Chic Point was shot in a fictional location: the occupied catwalk. Employing all the elements of a fashion show, models reveal their abdomens in outfits designed especially to suit Israeli checkpoints. For Israelis in the present time, the individual Palestinian body is the most dangerous weapon there is, and it is therefore the subject of ongoing and humiliating surveillance.
This title is only available on Radical Closure.
Sharif Waked was born in Nazareth to Palestinian refugees from the northern village of Mjedil. He studied at Haifa University and lives and works in Haifa/Nazareth. With ironic humor, Waked reflects on power, politics, and the every day. By overturning established notions of aesthetics, and juxtaposing historical references with the artifacts of politics as it takes place, Waked constantly questions the absurd realities of political conflict.
Waked has exhibited at various biennials and museums in the Middle East, Europe and the U.S.A including: Artists Space, New York; Huarte, Contemporary Art Centre, Spain; The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Meeting Points 5, Berlin; The Second Riwaq Biennale, Ramallah; Tate Modern, London; The Oberhausen Festival; Transmediale 05, Berlin; Macro al Mattatoio, Rome; ICA, London; Witte de Witt, Rotterdam; Home Works II, Beirut; the 6th Sharjah Biennial, UAE; and Ars Electronica, Linz.