Najaax Harun
Straight Path, 2024

Somaliland’s history is a tapestry woven with threads of colonial disruption and post-war reconstruction. British rule reinforced and intensified existing patriarchal structures by embedding stricter gender norms and excluding women from political and economic spheres. As Somaliland emerged from colonialism into the chaos of civil conflict, the imposition of Sharia law sought to unify a fractured society. This shift further entrenched conservative values and the confluence of colonial legacies, wartime upheaval, and religious codification sculpted Somaliland into a society where the hopes and participation of women is largely ignored.

Armed with this personal history of growing up in a country still awaiting international recognition, Najaax’s paintings reveal for us the secret lives of the women around her. Women, whose lives are progressing within, and parallel to, an ever-present patriarchal structure. But, also women who are acutely aware of how their existence is often misunderstood as a cultural norm; how the Western gaze, lacking in historical context or significant cultural understanding, looks upon them as powerless victims. They are anything but victims.

Najaax Harun, powerlessness, 2024, acrylic and oil pastels on canvas, 100 × 100 cm

Powerlessness explores the dynamics of power—its presence, absence, and the unawareness of possessing it. In the grand play of the world, men visibly hold power. To prevent women from feeling excluded, they are often led to believe they possess a subtler, more elusive form of power—control over men. This illusion makes it difficult for women to separate their identity from male influence, for in doing so, they risk losing even the perception of power.

The work questions the constructs that bind power to gender, revealing the complexity of agency and dependence.

Najaax Harun, lost in translation, 2024, acrylic, oil pastels. 100 × 85 cm

Najaax Harun, passing on honor, 2024
acrylic and oil pastels on canvas, 50 × 100 cm

A shadow of a woman passes the mantle of so-called honor to another, embodied in the form of a veil. This act suggests that a piece of fabric becomes the defining measure of a woman’s worth and dignity. The veil, not the woman herself, becomes the symbol of her value, and without it, she is denied the illusion of respect that society bestows upon those who conform. The veil is not merely cloth; it is a mechanism of control, reinforcing the belief that a woman’s honor is external, conditional, and rooted in submission to societal norms

Najaax Harun, straight path, 2024, acrylic, oil pastel, 90 × 110 cm

Straight path draws inspiration from the parallels between guiding a group of humans and leading a group of donkeys.

In my community, to direct a donkey, we affix two cardboard pieces on each side of its eyes, narrowing its vision to the path ahead, ensuring focus, discipline, and a singular direction. This practice, while seemingly mundane, serves as a satirical commentary on how communities not only control animals but also navigate social interactions with one another. In retrospect, I see echoes of this in my own upbringing and education—where, though not literal pieces of cardboard, systems of belief and education shaped and constrained perception, guiding me along predetermined paths

Najaax Harun, Sept. 2024.