The Guantánamo Artwork and Testimony of Moath Al-Alwi

Deaf Walls Speak presents an insider’s view of artmaking in Guantánamo, the world’s most notorious prison, as self-expression and protest, and to stage a fundamental human rights claim that has been denied by law and politics: the right to be recognized as human. The book juxtaposes detainee artist Moath al-Alwi’s testimony and artwork with essays that situate his work within legal, political, aesthetic, and material contexts to demonstrate that artwork at Guantánamo constitutes important forms of material witnessing to human rights abuses perpetrated and denied by the U.S. government. Alexandra S. Moore is Professor of English and Co-Director of the Human Rights Institute at Binghamton University. Elizabeth Swanson is Professor of Literature and Human Rights at Babson College.