Adil Amin | Aeisha 2

Adil Amin is a painter born in Blackburn, England to Pakistani immigrant parents. After completing a Foundation Degree in Fine Art at Blackburn College and studying at Birmingham City University, Amin has worked in several varying fields while developing his practice. His work is mainly autobiographical. Working in oils, pastels, and acrylics, it stands as an expression of his experiences as a South Asian Muslim male growing up in the Northwest of England. Through his portraits and landscapes, he seeks to humanize his often misrepresented community.

Amin currently lives and works in the Greater Toronto Area.

This painting of Aiesha is about humanizing Muslims especially South Asian Muslim women that wear head coverings who are overlooked, misunderstood, ignored and interrogated within society. The hijab being a cause for Islamophobia and violent hate crime can cause one to reject it. The decision to wear the hijab can be an incredibly difficult thing for some women. It takes strength and courage to subdue the temptations of wanting to fit in with the crowd and be desired within western culture many muslims live in.