Ashes

The exhibition traced the artistic influences immigrants in the United Kingdom had on local artists and movements. Amongst the artists featured in this exhibition were modern masters such as Claude Monet, Piet Mondrian, and Camille Pissarro, alongside Kurt Schwitters (an artist Malallah is deeply influenced by), to name a few.

This artwork was created in Malallah’s signature “ruins” technique, in which she destroys the canvas by burning it. In the artists own words: “This work is composed of many pieces of folded, burnt canvas. Each piece conceals a token from the natural world, while the burnt area of each element visually hints at that which is hidden within. A dialogue is established between each piece and the next: collectively, they are like numerous small burials, signifying sites of transformation.

Here, the transformative processes associated with death are hinted at, but are ultimately shrouded in secrecy. I view this work as completely occupying the field of abstraction, as well as that of figuration, thus approaching the elusive locus of liminality, the space in between the two.”