Popular iconography is interrogated in Clash of Civilizations, a new series of large digital images that parody cinema billboards. The series takes its title from Samuel Huntington’s controversial thesis of an irreconcilable and enduring conflict between the West and other civilizations, especially the world of Islam. The presence of Muslims in Europe has been seen as a ‘private nightmare’ of every European, evoking historical memories of ‘Saracen raiders in Western Europe and Turks at the gates of Vienna.’ This ‘West and the Rest’ distinction has been reinforced in the wake of the events of September 11, but it was already a deeply entrenched trope in popular American cinema. The Dadis exploit this ideologically-charged imagery to highlight the absurdity of these simplistic and reductive formulations. Bryan Biggs

Project Credits Courtesy the artists Supported by the Canadian High Commission and presented in association with Visiting Arts. With thanks to: Alan Dunn