I Refuse the Distance
2018
Hand-made garment and photography

As a reflection of fashion’s current penchant for streetwear and the subsequent rise of graphic T-Shirts, Cheb Moha designed a long-sleeved shirt spanning 2.4 meters accompanied by a detailed and informative photo essay. This oversized garment is meant to be worn by multiple people at once, bringing people together in an unfamiliar, yet intimate way. The size of the piece creates a distancing effect, one that raises awareness of the social function of clothing in general and of graphic tees in particular. The graphic shirt, according to the artist, serves primarily as a tool for communication and interaction. The message on this shirt, ‘I refuse the distance’, recontextualizes a classic phrase as a contemporary slogan. It is a direct reference to the 1980s love song ‘أرفض المسافة’ which was performed by the renowned Saudi musician Mohammed Abdu and written by Saudi poet Badr Bin Abdel Mohsen.