Exploring the boundaries of art and performance: The unique approach of Maitha Abdalla

Maitha Abdalla is a highly talented multi-disciplinary artist hailing from the UAE. Born in 1989, Maitha’s art practice combines a range of mediums including film, photography, sculpture, painting, drawing, and performance. Maitha’s work is known for its unique approach to tackling themes that explore folklore, mythology, gender, social conditioning, and psychology. She often employs the performative and constructed character of the theatre as a means of confronting and destabilizing the social constructs that she has encountered throughout her life.

Abdalla’s art often takes on a fantastical quality, shifting between abstraction and representation and charged with both drama and melancholy. Her work is a continuous investigation into the self, with the artist constructing characters that embody different facets of her persona. Her characters are often portrayed as being constrained within tight domestic spaces, which expose their vulnerability and amplify the emotions that they convey.

One of the most notable aspects of Abdalla’s practice is her approach to painting, which she considers a continuation of the performance. She employs a bodily approach to painting, often applying dense layers of oil and acrylic paint with her fingertips and tracing around her own figure with gestural smears of charcoal. This tactile approach allows the artist to create a deeper connection between her body, the artwork, and the viewer, blurring the lines between performance and visual art.

Maitha Abdalla’s work has been exhibited in various prestigious institutions in the UAE, including the Sharjah Art Foundation, where she participated in the 2019 edition of the Sharjah Biennial. Her work has also been exhibited internationally, including in France and Italy. Abdalla’s unique and highly personal approach to art has earned her a growing reputation as one of the most exciting young artists to emerge from the UAE in recent years. With her willingness to explore the boundaries between different artistic mediums and her commitment to creating emotionally charged, thought-provoking work, she is undoubtedly an artist to watch in the coming years.