Wafaa Bilal: Indulge Me is the first publication to survey the breadth of internationally renowned artist Wafaa Bilal’s (b. 1966, Najaf, Iraq; lives in New York, NY) complex artistic practice, which spans a range of media and interests, including performance, time-based media, sculpture, and interactive and digital technologies. Accompanying a major survey exhibition at the MCA, this volume covers the past two decades of Bilal’s artistic output, highlighting significant early works such as Domestic Tension (2007) and 3rdi (2010) alongside newer projects that investigate the relationship between Saddam Hussein, Iraqi history, and US–Middle East relations. A major survey text from former MCA Pamela Alper Associate Curator Bana Kattan opens the book and is followed by an essay from the artist and an interview between Bilal and multimedia artist and filmmaker Lynn Hershman Leeson. The publication, much like Bilal’s broader practice, shows us what it means to consciously engage across cultures while highlighting the negative global implications of consumption, exploitation, and profiteering.

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Wafaa Bilal: Indulge Me was presented at the MCA from February 1 through October 19, 2025. The exhibition was curated by Bana Kattan, former Pamela Alper Associate Curator, with Iris Colburn, Curatorial Associate.