A Life without Colour

The painting represents the end of Women’s Rights under ISIS's occupation of Mosul. The three women’s faces are mask-like and blank, signaling the dehumanisation of women under ISIS rule. The shocking, vibrant colours in the centre of the composition seem to drown out the black at its edges, as a statement of defiance against ISIS law that made face veils and black clothing mandatory. Women living in Mosul under ISIS were largely confined to their homes, not allowed to attend universities or express individuality. The composition is of three women, the number three under Islamic tradition denotes multitude. Hundreds of thousands of women were subjugated and suppressed under ISIS.