Difference between war + Love pod

Adapted from my monthly embroidery flash designs, this t-shirt showcases designs around the theme of war that mimics the texture of machine embroidery.

The first design obscures the letter 'ر' (ra) in the Arabic word for war حرب (harb). Once the letter 'ر' (ra) is removed the Arabic word for love حب (hubb) is what remains.

The fish and Russian text are inspired by the story of a woman in Russia who wrote “Нет В—Е” (“No to W–”) in chalk on the street, with asterisks replacing the middle letters of "Войне" (war). Detained by police, she argued in court that the asterisks didn’t represent “war” but “Вобле,” a type of fish. She explained she just hated fish, which amused the judge, who let her go. The story spread, and the fish became a symbolic joke, with graffiti of fish now representing an anti-war sentiment.

The Arabic letter س (seen) represents the first letter of the word for fish, سمك (samak). Sometimes, you'll see the letter ك (kaf) followed by a fish emoji 🐟, which phonetically resembles the vulgar phrase كس أمك (kus ummak), literally meaning "your mother's pussy," but commonly used as an expression of frustration, similar to Fuck in English. I opted for the more Juvenile 'س is for سمك' so I can comfortably wear this T-shirt in front of my parents.

35% of proceeds from this t-shirt will be donated to Palestine.

35% of proceeds from this t-shirt will be donated to Lebanon.

(Charities are tbc with a screenshot from transactions to be shared on my Instagram @safaelsamad)