Mohammad Alshaibani
The universe furloughed its duty to humankind at a point no one can be certain of; keep a hold of your towels, friends, and remain vigilant. The severe lack of observable order may drive some to believe the world is collapsing around them, however, the gift of the military is solemn order, defiantly standing in the face of chaos. Our thoughts are grounded on fundamental motivational systems, and the construction of that motivational system is strictly derived from making order of anything, should one be ordered to. It’s an orthodoxy where God, the country, then the ruler dictate the Apocrypha etched into the very fabric of behavior and thinking.
Often I’ve felt ambivalence towards the military-industrial complex and decided to contend with a mixture of notes, typographic elements, various facsimiles of emotions, given form, in a complex array of twisted forms and aching contortions, through print, still life, and video.
Mohammad Alshaibani’s room-sized installation, Meat Valley, is a controlled space of signs and systems that evoke a military regiment in a demarcation of space – the viewer is directed where to go. The name of the installation, which melds body with landscape, is significant: Meat Valley, the literal translation of a bootcamp base.
While there are outward-facing projections of national sacrifice, such as the film Soldier, which plays out the Kafkaesque digging of a trench, there are also more obscure readings. Know the Mechanicals, the second film shown, performs the disassembling of a weapon with rhythmic recordings of military marches and hymns, while its title references an Obie Trice rap song.
The hovering signs in Sign Me Up both display a language of collective responsibility and innocence, using old Arabic typeface Alshaibani remembers from his childhood. Textural intricacies in three posters are new yet look old, layering the artist’s figure against diary entries. Printed on archival paper and exposed to acetate according to strict measures of time, they couch a military drill.
Despite this regulatory ethos, there are nostalgic undertones. Alshaibani builds a non-linear narrative, where he retains full control of how much he reveals of this world, and the hero’s journey is hidden.
Mohammad Alshaibani, born in Dubai, is an Emirati comic book artist. He received his Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design from the American University of Sharjah and his Masters of Fine Arts in Sequential Art from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He works traditionally, using any tool that provides an ink line, and creates stories inspired by the Macho era of comics. Mohammad has exhibited with Fn Design in their first Fakie Dexhibition and the first Project MEGA Exhibition. He also contributed to Amor, A Magazine of Random with his recreation of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns cover. Mohammad’s artistic influences come from the great storytellers like Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, and the greats from that era; he plans out his pages with an abundance of blacks and uses shapes to immerse the viewer into his comics. Mohammad resides in Dubai where his drawing time is divided between finishing pieces and chasing his nieces for his materials.