Born in Acre, lives and works in Acre and Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
Ashkar is an interdisciplinary artist engaged in issues relating to identity, social critique, and gender. Through painting, photography, performance and installation, she creates a fantastic, dream-like world, directly connected to changes in the socio-political atmosphere, that serve as an opportunity to initiate discussions about society and culture.
For over 20 years Ashkar has been using her own face as a canvas, writing a daily sentence on her face in Arab calligraphy, visible to all, but not understood by all. This artistic practice encourages viewers to engage in conversation with her and learn about diversity, her biography and Arab - Palestinian identity. In her series of assembled boxed, Ashkar uses readymade objects relating to her biography and treats them in conjunction with her photographs and paintings.
Through these mini-installations Ashkar explores various political issues using the symbolic meanings of different readymade materials, as a way to explore and react to art history, biographical memories, socio-political agenda and current affairs. Ashkar has shown numerous exhibitions in Israel, Europe and the US.