Jamal’s recent work has concentrated on images of goats- highly naturalistic yet
strangely anthropomorphic. This body of work stems from the enveloping conflict
and acts of terrorism encountered on a regular basis. The notion of sacrifice is
integral to Pakistani Muslim identity. Religious injunction encourages the sacrifice
of domestic animals as echoes of the Abrahmic sacrifice. Pakistanis willingly gave
up the safety of live and limb to form a separate homeland and continue to sacrifice time, money, mental and physical space, personal and communal rights in the hope that conditions will improve.
Jamal’s works pertain to sacrificial death, where the goat symbolizes the people of
Pakistan who are the evident victims of terrorism. However, the suicide bomber
is often a victim of brainwashing or even kidnapping. On Pakistani TV there are
frequent mentions of suicide bomb attacks, where the police search- mostly in vain- for the head of the bomber. This leads to Jamal’s concentration on the head of the goat.