The Penance Cycle: I'm a Terrorist (2011-2012)

Before I deployed to Iraq, I had a 90 hour Arabic immersion course which I picked up the alphabet and some conversational Arabic in which I could introduce myself, state who and what I am, and that was about it. In trying to learn more of such a complex language, and working with a Psychological Operations Unit, I saw some of the products they were making. One poster caught my attention because of a word which had what amounts to a series of "Y's" in the end of the word punctuated by an "N". The word was "Terrorists" or الإرهابيين. Using what little functional conjugation I knew, I twisted the sentence to a declarative "I'm a terrorist" or "أنا إرهابي"  This resulted in my wanting to explore how my relationship as a participant in Operation Iraqi Freedom, a war started on false pretenses measured with my actions for and against the Iraqi people, and the United States Army. Inspired by the work of other calligraphers such as Hassan Massoudy, Khaled Al Saai, and Ayad Al Kadhi I clumsily began my own explorations the way a student repeats a sentence over and over after committing some offending action and getting caught.