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 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, Pataka Art + Museum (NZ), ACE Open, West Space, Campbelltown Art Centre, Fremantle Art Centre, John Curtin Gallery, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery and Alaska Projects. 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.
Instagram: abdul_rahman_abdullah

(pictured) The Dogs | Abdul-Rahman Abdullah | 2017


Current projects

Concrete - Art, Design & Architecture
Curated by Margaret Hancock-Davis
February - May 2019 | Jamfactory (SA)
(touring nationally)

Safe Space
Curated by Christine Morrow
February - April 2019 | Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery (QLD)
(touring nationally)

Upcoming projects

The National 2019 - New Australian Art
Curated by Anna Davis and Clothilde Bullen
March - July 2019 | Museum of Contemporary Art (NSW)

Dead Things
Abdul-Rahman Abdullah & Anna Louise Richardson
Curated by Kent Wilson
March 2019 | Castlemaine State Festival (VIC)

Universal Stories
Curated by Meryl Ryan
September 2019 | Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery (NSW)