Abdul-Rahman Abdullah (b. 1977) is an Australian artist whose practice explores the different ways that memory can inhabit and emerge from familial spaces. Drawing on the narrative capacity of animal archetypes, crafted objects and the human presence, Abdullah aims to articulate physical dialogues between the natural world, politics and the agency of culture. While his own experiences as a Muslim Australian of mixed ethnicity provide a starting point, Abdullah negotiates shared understandings of individual identity, new mythologies and marginalised outlooks in a multicultural context. Living and working in rural Western Australia, Abdullah provides a unique perspective across intersecting and disparate communities. Working primarily in sculpture and installation, his work has been described as magic realism, creating poetic interventions with the space it occupies.

Abdul-Rahman Abdullah graduated from Curtin University of Technology with a BFA in 2012. In recent years he has exhibited work at a variety of cultural institutes and art galleries including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Newcastle Art Gallery and Pataka Art + Museum (NZ). He is a current board member of the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art and founding member of eleven collective.

Abdul-Rahman Abdullah is commercially represented by Moore Contemporary, Perth.
Instagram: @abdul_rahman_abdullah

(pictured) Pretty Beach (detail) | 2019 | painted wood, silverplate ballchain, crystals, audio


Current projects

Talismans for uncertain times
November 2019 - March 2020 | Bendigo Art Gallery (VIC)

Safe Space
Curated by Christine Morrow
December 2019 - February 2020 | Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery (QLD)
(touring nationally)


Concrete: art design architecture
Curated by Margaret Hancock-Davies
January - March | Australian Design Centre (NSW)
(touring nationally)

Upcoming projects

I am a beating heart in the world: Diaspora Pavilion 2
Curated by Adelaide Bannerman, Mikala Tai & Jessica Taylor
April - June 2020 | 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art (NSW)