Firing line, December 2, 1968 (detail)

Muhammad Ali's 1968 interview with William F. Buckley, the conservative host of American current affairs television show Firing Line, forms the subject matter of Abdul Abdullah's work for the Basil Sellers Art Prize. During this interview the champion boxer defended his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War due to his status as a Nation of Islam minister. Ali's stand had significant personal consequences, including a criminal conviction, the suspension of his boxing licence and the stripping of his World Heavyweight title. His interview with Buckley provided a high profile forum for Ali to contend that the severity of these repercussions stemmed from racial and religious prejudice. Firing line, December 2, 1968 (2016) takes inspiration from the way Muhammad Ali used the visibility of his profession to speak out against injustice. Abdul Abdullah similarly sees art as a means for activism. Through his work, Abdullah aims to expose the divisive nationalism that currently shapes politics in Australia. A seventh generation Australian whose father converted to Islam when he was a child, the artist grew up in the wake of 9/11 and has watched the religion he identifies with become increasingly politicised. In this work Abdullah merges the worlds of sport and art to raise awareness of bigotry and to build a more positive identity for the Muslim faith in Australia.