The mirror is a device used in confronting truths. The remove afforded by its reflection offers clarity and objectivity. In the series Fragments of Home Left Behind II, traumatic recent events are depicted in shocking detail, sourced from images captured by press photographers. Each is a portrayal of an inhumane act or acts inflicted on one group of people over another or a depiction of refugees who have survived unspeakable trauma and loss.

Miniature painting is so precise that some scenes are rendered by brushes with a single hair. Abid’s painstaking depiction of recent events affecting the Rohingya community of Myanmar required her to sit for hours contemplating the devastation wreaked on entire populations and the destructive impact they have on all involved. In doing so, she demands the recognition of these acts, which must be viewed with critical eyes and discussed openly, despite the courage that this requires.

Even so, we continue to hope that this destruction, inhumanity, and cruelty is behind us, viewable only in the past… through rearview mirrors.