In his series "Burqa," photographer and documentary filmmaker Toufic Beyhum addresses both his own obsession with falconry, in particular falcon hoods, and the large photographic portraits of the Amirs and Sheikhs of the Persian Gulf states, which dominate the lobbies of all public buildings. Indeed, these three striking images (see M.2017.230.1 and M.2017.230.2) of leather-hooded humans are meant to evoke the proud and unseeing leadership of the United Arab Emirates and adjacent lands as projected in their public portraits. Beyhum’s photographs can be read on other levels as well: the title "Burqa" is a reminder of how some Muslim women are so extensively covered that they can barely see, while the leather masks (custom-made for the artist in a London shop catering to leather fetishists) also conjure up notions of S+M bondage.
Toufic Beyhum was born in Beirut. He moved to London as a child when his family was forced to relocate on account of the Lebanese civil war; he nonetheless maintained close ties with the Middle East. Currently based in Namibia, Beyhum has exhibited his work in London, Berlin, and Dubai.