Through an intersectional feminist lens, Trigger explores the violent convergence of femininity, cultural identity, and silence. Composed as a triptych, the work examines how the beauty expected of Muslim women (lipstick, rhinestones, false lashes) can be empowering and oppressive.

Each bullet casing symbolises a distortion: Beauty, topped with lipstick, no longer harmless. Temptation spills with rhinestones, seductive yet sharp. Vulgarity, spiralling with lashes, becomes a grotesque parody of hyper-femininity.

Mounted on geometric tiles inspired by Dana Awartani’s reverence for traditional Islamic art, the work is culturally anchored while questioning what happens when that heritage is distorted. Framed by Arabic calligraphy repeating “silence” and “invisible,” it echoes Lalla Essaydi’s interrogation of how aesthetics and language can be used to mute Muslim women.

By turning objects of adornment into instruments of violence, Trigger confronts how the decorative can become dangerous, exposing deeper histories of objectification, gender politics, and cultural erasure.

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