Shadi Al-Atallah creates large-scale figurative paintings. The dark and dynamic figures depicted in the mixed-media works are distorted self-portraits. Drawing connections between the Queer ballroom scene and folkloric dance traditions from the African diaspora, Al-Atallah explores ideas of performativity, spirituality and catharsis.

Working in rapid motion, Al-Atallah paints fast to avoid their thoughts slipping and each painting documents a single hazy moment in time, examining the space between the mundane and the spiritual. Al-Atallah has further described painting as a means to escape the constraints of language. It allows them to invent genderless figures, an ambiguity that language rarely grants. That the work remains enigmatic, also invites the viewer to connect with the artwork on their terms.

They/Them, He/Him