Bhabha’s art has many references to science fiction, horror and pop culture in addition to art historical eras and movements such as the classical and archaic eras, indigenous art, expressionism and the art brut movement. By indiscriminately mixing elements from pop culture and high culture, Bhabha creates artwork that is described as fascinating, challenging and relevant, leaving the viewer with many possible interpretations. As a sculptor she is self- taught, mainly working in bronze, clay, wood, cork, styrofoam and other found materials.

The title We Come in Peace, is a direct reference to the science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still from 1951, directed by Robert Wise. The aliens in the film tell us that they come in peace, but as Bhabha points out, it is human nature to fear the unknown. The humans in the film respond by mounting an attack.

The tension between the two figures is ambigious. Are we witnessing a meeting between a worshipper and a god? The enforcer and the subjugated? Survivor and deceased? Even though the sculptures are portrayed as something different and unknown, Bhabha insists that this does not necessarily mean something frightening or antagonistic. In this way, the artist challenges the viewer’s own prejudices when confronted with the unknown. Previously, Bhabha has also used Benaam to represent the civilians murdered in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Benaam, without name, was always for me a monument to the unnamed victims of ongoing conflict. The black covering is literally a plastic bag covering a body that has expired. The hands stretching out from under the plastic signal a last movement, as does the refuse or tail of rubble, a final expulsion. (...) the standing five- headed intersex figure, is responding to being summoned by Benaam. They obviously don’t look human in scale or presence, so the scenario between them is open to the imagination. For me, it’s an antiwar statement, but I don’t want to limit the work to one interpretation.

- Huma Bhabha