Abdul-Rahman Abdullah (b. 1977) is an Australian artist whose practice explores the different ways that memory can inhabit and emerge from familial space. Working primarily in sculpture and installation, Abdullah draws on passages of personal history, articulating formative experiences of individual identity within the broader scope of family. Expanding on the narrative capacity of animal archetypes, crafted objects and the human presence, his work is intended to create a physical dialogue between the natural world and the agency of culture. While his own experiences as a Muslim Australian of mixed cultural heritage provide a starting point, Abdullah negotiates shared understandings of individual identity and new mythologies emerging from a contemporary multicultural context.
Attending the Victorian College of the Arts and then Curtin University, Abdullah graduated with a BFA in 2012. His work has been exhibited recently at the Art Gallery of South Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, South Australian Museum, West Space, John Curtin Gallery and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. Abdullah is held in the collections of Artbank, Islamic Museum of Australia, Campbelltown Art Centre, Murdoch University, University of Western Australia, Curtin University, Wesfarmers, Art Gallery of South Australia and Art Gallery of Western Australia.
Instagram: abdul_rahman_abdullah
(pictured) Among Monsters | 2017 | stained wood, glass beads
Current projects
50Fifty - Fifty years of the John Curtin collection
Curated by Lia McKnight
May 2017 | John Curtin Gallery (WA)
Upcoming projects
We are all affected - Eleven collective
Curated by Khaled Sabsabi and Nur Shkembi
July 2017 | Festival of Anxiety (NSW)
Every dog will have it's day
Curated by Sophia Cai and Kathleen Linn
July 2017 | Casula Powerhouse (NSW)
Dark Horizons - Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, Khaled Sabsabi, Abdul Abdullah
Curated by Reuben Friend
August 2017 | Pataka Art + Museum (New Zealand)