Ahmed (Badr) Rabbani, a citizen of Pakistan, arrived at Guantánamo in 2004 after having being previously detained by the CIA for two years. His paintings of empty glasses and tables set for tea, but with empty chairs and plates, can be read both as memories of his absent family and as references to his hunger strikes, undertaken to protest conditions for prisoners. Along with his brother, he was released home to Pakistan in February 2023, after 18 years of detention. He intends to sell his art through the nonprofit HeaRT.
Ahmed Rabbani, Empty Glassware, 2015.
Ahmed Rabbani, Table Set for Tea, 2016.
Ahmed Rabbani, Looking at the Moon, 2016.