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These two bodies of work mirror each other yet each has its own gesture. As I was creating the clay houses of the foldable houses, I was struck by the gesture of cutting and making, this residue of making a clay structure created its own shape and form, an action that is supposed to be empty and hollow was instead making its own imagery, the act of noticing it made it its own work. By forcing such gestures I started thinking about the absence of a gesture, If I cut out the shape from the paper,
I am left with the negative space that contains on itself so much information. By making, and erasing, a mirrored form of work was created.

 

In these explorations, I also began to see a parallel with the overlooked aspects of creation. We often focus on what's visible and meaningful, but there’s a whole world of importance in what›s left behind or unnoticed—akin to the unsaid and the ordinary, drawing attention to the work in what we might otherwise overlook or take for granted.

Forced gesture of an empty presence

9 x 12 inch 

Clay on Acid Free Archival paper

Cutout of Acid Free Archival paper

2023

FATMA AL ALI  2024 ©

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