Artwork Details:
Loosely invoking Henri Mattise’s 1910 panting, The Dance—an image recognised for its embodied approach to movement—Mirror Ball fashions a scene of unique cultural specificity. What appear to be whirling dervishes in Sufi costumes are seen in a constant struggle, or is it a play, a dance to the end of time? When assembling the painting, Khalifi had noted that the axis of his gaze was not fixed. He wanted to point in directions, suggesting his desire to express how an artist and spectator negotiates their presence in the world.