Samira Idroos is a devoted and intentional artist. Idroos’s conceptual works combine distinct cultural references to story-tell around shared histories and engage in critical commentary. She employs religious texts and pop culture symbology to progressively question the dynamics of power, gender, and ownership.

Her training in painting guides her process and compositional vocabulary. In her current work (2020 – present), Idroos uses prayer rugs to study the boundaries of history, language, and materiality. The prayer rug becomes a portal of universal themes. Idroos recontextualizes the ancient object through designs that vary in text, scale, shape, and images. Idroos blends sacred and secular symbology to catalyze necessary conversations around capitalism and colonialism.

Idroos’s artistic process and research-based approach allow her to negotiate belonging and facilitate connections in a mainstream culture that often misrepresents Islam. Her syncretic identity draws from multiple cultures. She is influenced by her love of music, especially hip-hop.

Idroos gives homage to the lands she comes from and the land she inhabits, paying special attention to Black and indigenous histories. Her work is subtle, poetic, and provocative.

As Idroos expands this series, she plans to diversify source materials to include recyclable and found textiles, incorporate other mediums, implement structural elements, and foray further into conceptual art.