In the aniconic artistic tradition of Islam, calligraphy — the use of text as visual art — is given special importance in lieu of figuration. Meg Hitchcock’s intricate collages feature designs created with words and letters from books, a kind of calligraphy of print. Some pieces seem syncretic, using letters cut from one tradition to make passages from another, as in Credo: The Nicene Creed (2015), in which a Hindu text is rearranged to write a Christian statement of faith. Her more overtly political Niqab series uses text from feminist literature to render figurative images of Islamic women’s headscarves, levying a calligraphic critique against a tradition from which she nevertheless seems to draw inspiration. ROMAN KALINOVSKI
Meg Hitchcock, 72 Virgins, 2015. Letters cut from the Koran
Meg Hitchcock: Verbatim on view through December 20, 2015 at 56 Bogart Street, between Grattan Street and Harrison Place, Brooklyn (718) 852-4396
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