This is the work of an Afghan-American artist, who has adopted the persona of “Jihadi Gangster” to satirize corruption in Afghanistan.
Can modern comedy, such as this guy’s work, be art? He put up posters for a false campaign for his run for parliament of Afghanistan. By bringing attention to his cause, he is attempting to expose the hypocritical nature of the government of his country. How is he speaking back to the dominant society? A popular English-language magazine in Afghanistan had planned on running an article with photos of his art in it, but instead it was censored by the Afghan government. Are there other artists in Afghanistan speaking up for the people but being censored? How have they gotten around this? Are their voices often heard, or are they just “heard about”? What do you think?
Here’s what one article in the Wall Street Journal on him says about his “campaign”:
The stunts are part of a campaign the 40-year-old Afghan-American has been waging for the past three years against the excesses of the Afghan government, ranked as one of the world’s most corrupt. In the process, he has become the leading agent provocateur of the nascent Afghan art scene.
“I think Aman can be a leader for Afghans in showing what provocative art can do in Afghanistan,” said Tamim Samee, founder of Afghanistan’s Contemporary Art Prize, a four-year-old competition meant to nurture the country’s young artists.
In recent years, Mr. Mojadidi has helped train young Afghans about street graffiti, worked with Mr. Samee on the annual arts prize, and joined forces with expats who have injected a jolt of inspiration into Kabul’s evolving artistic community.
Here’s 2 more articles about him: McClatchy Blog: Checkpoint Kabul, and what appears to possibly be his website.
