Leila Khaled was part of a team that hijacked an American passenger airplane in 1969. She’s been made into an icon by the supporters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, is the poster girl of Palestinian militancy and has now been made into an art project called “The Icon” by artist Amer Shomali.
Icon, created in 2011, is a piece by Amer Shomali produced especially for Birzeit University’s Framed-Unframed exhibition. This project was inspired by the well-known photograph of Khaled, taken by photographer Eddie Adams, brandishing a Kalashnikov rifle and draped in a kuffiyah. It has utilized 3,500 multiple colored lipstick sticks, from white to black, reds and pinks, to recreate the photo. It’s currently being featured in a exhibition of Palestinian artists at Birzeit University.
Leila Khaled in Lipstick Art (Final)
Leila Khaled: The Original Photograph
Leila Khaled Lipstick Art: Up Close
Lipstick Art: Preparation
Lipstick Art: The Colors & Amounts Used
Political art, especially that of people termed icons by their followers, is controversial at best, but can be turned into unique art when it is seen as beautiful by the eyes of the beholding artist. What are your thoughts on this tribute to a hijacker?
H/T: Oddity Central
