Sofia Niazi's poignant project about the women of the war on terror

GIFs are usually reserved for that corner of the internet preoccupied with getting a quick laugh out of an easy audience (us included) so it’s surprisingly poignant to see the popular form employed not to show how funny a dog walking on its hind legs can be but to express a more powerful idea. This is exactly what Sofia Niazi has done with her new project Women of WOT. She wanted to utilise the medium to tell the unheard stories of the women forgotten by the War on Terror, but soon found that her project took a unexpected turn.

“I began this project with the intention of revealing hidden stories about some of the women and families whose lives have been shattered by the systematised injustice brought about by the ‘war on terror,’” Sofia explains on her website. “I came to find that on the whole the stories I wanted to share were not really ‘hidden’ and the women were not ‘voiceless.’ Videos, interviews and articles written by the women were available publicly online to anyone looking for them. Instead of constructing my own narrative about the women and families affected, I proceeded to explore ways of highlighting and connecting existing accounts and stories.”

This method of storytelling led her to GIFs, which allowed her to make connections simply and effectively. “The images and GIFs on this website explore the daily routines of some of the women who have lived in limbo for years. Their family members have been imprisoned without charge, subject to house arrest or have been sent to Guantanamo Bay with little or no information about their condition or fate.”

In spite of the stasis and sadness implicit in the subject matter the images themselves are vibrant and textured, each with one quiet detail which reminds you of their purpose. It’s a very moving project, employing internet art and popular forms for something altogether new, challenging the overriding perception of digital art in the process. Here’s hoping for more from Sofia!