Kaaba Picture as a Misprint (2014), explores how reorienting objects distorts how they are read. The works began by Abbas breaking down the iconic image of the Kaaba into its simplest, yet still recognizable form—two rectangles, one placed atop the other. Abbas broke down each black form into cyan, magenta, and yellow versions of the shape, which were then printed off center. Through this technique, only when the three colors are layered upon each other is the image black. It speaks to the different ways in which religion may be understood and experienced; even when undergoing the same series of events, people may process these happenings in a plethora of ways. By deeming her method a misprint, the artist links the quest for truth and perfection through religious devotion to the capacity for human error.
Justine Ludwig
