In traditional Arab households, naming is patronymic, with the child’s name tied to their father’s first name through the linking words “daughter of” (bint) or “son of” (ibn). As a means of reconciling herself with her Yemeni heritage and reconsidering the position of women in general, Yasmine Nasser Diaz reveals her birth name, Hanna, and proclaims herself the daughter of her mother, Ghamar, in bright pink neon lights. This reversal is an act of recuperation for her mother’s identity, who would traditionally be known as the mother (umm) of her first-born son, and an act of resistance against a practice that identifies women in relation to men. This dazzling impossible-to-ignore work serves as a conduit to inspire conversations that are usually kept in the dark.
Based in Los Angeles, Diaz continues to use mixed-media collage, immersive installation, fiber etching, and video to explore themes
of adolescence, identity, and gender.
