Click. Fire. Click. Fire. Click. Fire. World-wide around-the-clock access to shoot paintballs at Wafaa Bilal while he’s locked in a gallery eating and drinking only what is donated to him. His work “Domestic Tension: Shoot an Iraqi” earned him international acclaim and Artist of the Year from the Chicago Tribune. In his more recent work, “The Night of Bush Capturing: A Virtual Jihadi”, he casts himself as an Iraqi civilian who loses his brother to the war and gets recruited by Al Qaeda to become a suicide bomber and joins the hunt for Bush.

Only a day after his opening lecture at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) on March 5^th, 2008, Virtual Jihadi was shut down and all efforts to reopen it have failed. Fortunately, the Sanctuary for Independent Media, just down the street from RPI, took in Wafaa’s work and created a venue for open discussion. As the audience inside engaged in dialogue on the war in Iraq; crowds outside lead by county majority leader Robert Mrich, gathered in protest, calling the exhibit terrorism. Also fortunately for us, Wafaa intends to “show Virtual Jihadi in a physical platform but not to allow it to be released as a video game. The idea is to bring people together in a specific space and time.”

Lucy Zhao: What influenced you to become a political artist?

Wafaa Bilal: There is no such thing as a non-political artist. Art by its nature is political, since it’s a reflection of life. Even though many artists deny the idea of art as political, and decide to meditate on aesthetic alone…that decision is itself political. There are places and times when one can afford to meditate on aesthetic alone; but at this point in time I cannot afford that luxury to meditate on aesthetic alone.

Video courtesy of www.thesanctuaryforindependentmedia.org/tv

LZ: All of your work has been deeply personal, why do you think it’s important to incorporate your own experiences?

WB: Good question — Delacroix said many artists look for subject matter away from themselves; while the best subject matter is themselves. I just feel so attached to what I have been through, I have the need to express it. So art becomes a reflection of my life. Since it is a reflection, it is sincere and it generates the impact desirable by the artist.

LZ: What new perspectives are you trying to introduce? And why is it important to walk in those shoes?

WB: I am holding a mirror to people’s faces to allow them to see the reflection of the ugly reality we exist in and all try to deny. The reality of discrimination, subjugation and demonization of an entire culture…It’s safe to say after this project, I do feel personally threatened most of the time now. But that’s a challenge an artist accepts in order to bring about change.

LZ: What difficulties both internal and external did you come across in the making of the game? And what have you learned from them?

WB: The external challenge was to get hold of the game and hack it to insert myself as a suicide bomber. Internally, I had many conflicts about casting myself as a suicide bomber because it is a harsh reality for many people to accept. Even though I had the internal conflict I went ahead with the project because I knew it would achieve an impact.

LZ: Artists are always using innovative new mediums to convey their message. Do you think virtual reality is the next step?

WB: There is no doubt about that. As the technology progresses, and as more and more games become not reflective but dynamic, we’ll see an increased use of virtual reality as a new medium for artists. Besides the engagement, the platform is widened and breaks the establishment, gallery walls. It makes more sense to use the virtual medium since there is no impact generated on the environment. Since these projects become ephemeral, there is no materialization of them; the impact or what we are left with is the impression and the personal experience, which has more impact than a materialized object.

LZ: What roles can the modern day artist play to reconnect these individuals and deal with the issues of violence and war?

WB: Virtual Jihadi is a good example of reversing the roles and letting people experience how difficult it is to be the hunted. Artists are always good at reversing roles to bring attention to stereotypes. Using creative, intelligent strategies of engagement rather than banal ones; and not blurring the line between the real and the virtual but connecting them together; can create that desirable impact. Domestic Tension was an example of connecting virtual experience with real experience.

LZ: Artists suffer many dilemmas and one has become increasingly prominent. What do you think about the balance between artistic freedom and social responsibility?  That is, should we limit artistic expression to protect the sentiments of the viewer?

WB: Of course not! Artists always have been on the front lines of the issues. We must, if we believe in democracy, in freedom of speech, we must believe in the freedom of the artist to do whatever they want to do.

LZ: What have you learned from the reactions to Virtual Jihadi? And how will you incorporate those lessons into future projects?

WB: Good question — Virtual Jihadi is no longer the project; what has become the project is the reaction itself. Perhaps Virtual Jihadi was the trigger for a larger debate, so that experience is no longer confined to the physical space, it achieved much greater dialogue than even intended.

LZ: What projects are you working on at the moment?

WB: I volunteered for Torture Choice Corporation to compete in a high-stakes democratic election between dog and man in which the loser will be publicly waterboarded.  Go to Dogoriraqi.com for more details. Another project in the works is the attempt to unite the United States and become the father of the country. I’m deeply saddened by missing the opportunity to be one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, so I wanted to take this opportunity to become one of the fathers of this country. Mt. Rushmore will have another face on it. Watch for this project this fall.