Wafaa Bilal for “Wafaa Bilal: Indulge Me” at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
February 1–October 19, 2025
For nearly two decades, Wafaa Bilal has put his body on the line for his art-making. “Indulge Me” at the MCA Chicago, the first major survey for the Iraqi American artist, showcased how his work highlights the tension—implicit at times, explicit at others—between what is perceived to be a conflict zone and what is perceived to be its inverse, a “comfort zone.”
Much of his work examines the role of the United States in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. “I watched the terror unfold on a small TV in my studio apartment in Lakeview, and I knew the world would never be the same,” he has said. An even more personal reality—the 2004 killing of his brother by a remotely operated drone in Iraq—has further informed his practice.
Many Americans viewed the war in Iraq at a further remove than Bilal. That sense of distance informed his performance Domestic Tension (2007), in which the artist lived in a Chicago gallery for a month. During that time frame, anyone, from anywhere in the world, could log onto a website and fire a paintball gun at him. The performance quickly became an excruciating experience—physically, emotionally, and mentally—for the artist. By its end, the paintball gun had been fired more than 65,000 times. Though many users sought to harm Bilal, a group formed to protect him and fire the paint away from the artist. The piece remains an incisive commentary on how everyone is implicated in conflict, even those located far away from it.
At the MCA Chicago, curator Bana Kattan made sure to make Bilal’s practice feel as tangible as possible. Bilal’s environment for the original Domestic Tension performance was partially restaged at the museum, making the work feel eerily present. Elsewhere in the exhibition, visitors were able to play Virtual Jihadi (2008), a video game that combines two actual first-person shooter games: the Islamophobic Quest for Saddam and al-Qaida’s response to it, The Night of Bush Capturing. By reskinning the game and inserting himself as the character, Bilal tasked players with killing the enemy—though in this instance, there was no distinction between the US military and al-Qaida, raising the question: Who is the true aggressor here? Bilal’s art has contended with that powerful inquiry for years, making it prescient in our current moment, in which conflicts in many corners of the world are seen at a remove by many.
Nominees:
Rosa Barba
“Rosa Barba: The Ocean of One’s Pause”
Museum of Modern Art, New York
May 3–July 6, 2025
Raven Chacon
“Raven Chacon: Aviary”
American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York
September 26, 2024–July 3, 2025
Andrea Chung
“Andrea Chung: Between Too Late and Too Early”
Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami
November 6, 2024–April 6, 2025
Stephanie Comilang
“Stephanie Comilang: An Apparition, A Song”
Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA), New York
May 31–August 10, 2025
