Alia Gargum
Alia Gargum is one of the artists selected for Belonging - a new virtual exhibition that is part of our residency programme Artists Connecting in Transition (ACT).
She is a British-Libyan artist based in Newcastle who composes her work through critical and personal exploration of politics and culture, focusing on her heritage through diasporic means. Sculpture, paintings and installation elements are reorganised and transformed in an organic manner. Alia primarily uses treated steel and hand-manipulated paper, depicting signifiers of her past through a contemporary lens.
With a particular interest in how cultural institutions are passed down and interpreted through generations, Alia provides a staging of past events into a version of present environments. As well as interest in the spoken Arabic language, Alia investigates and experiments with how it is scribed, drawing from religious scripture and political graffiti.
Another tenant of Alia’s work is the exploration of power dynamics that echo into personal relationships, with a focus on the history of Middle Eastern and North African region institutions.
In part an exploration of the colour green, Alia also examines a glimpse into memory through a diasporic lens. Forced migration, cultural norms and identities converge in her works. Sculptures and paintings exist and are created together, forming a dialogue that explores the definition of these processes.
Alia’s works exist as sculptural forms, with steel and paper hand-treated to represent memories and places left behind. Steel structures define the space, laden with the same salt, paint and rust as the paper works and carrying the weight of time through their worn appearance. Paper is painted, stained, and made within the space, then folded to carry the imprint of the space easily; at a moment’s notice and concealed if needed.
More information: @alia_studio_ on Instagram
She is a British-Libyan artist based in Newcastle who composes her work through critical and personal exploration of politics and culture, focusing on her heritage through diasporic means. Sculpture, paintings and installation elements are reorganised and transformed in an organic manner. Alia primarily uses treated steel and hand-manipulated paper, depicting signifiers of her past through a contemporary lens.
With a particular interest in how cultural institutions are passed down and interpreted through generations, Alia provides a staging of past events into a version of present environments. As well as interest in the spoken Arabic language, Alia investigates and experiments with how it is scribed, drawing from religious scripture and political graffiti.
Another tenant of Alia’s work is the exploration of power dynamics that echo into personal relationships, with a focus on the history of Middle Eastern and North African region institutions.
In part an exploration of the colour green, Alia also examines a glimpse into memory through a diasporic lens. Forced migration, cultural norms and identities converge in her works. Sculptures and paintings exist and are created together, forming a dialogue that explores the definition of these processes.
Alia’s works exist as sculptural forms, with steel and paper hand-treated to represent memories and places left behind. Steel structures define the space, laden with the same salt, paint and rust as the paper works and carrying the weight of time through their worn appearance. Paper is painted, stained, and made within the space, then folded to carry the imprint of the space easily; at a moment’s notice and concealed if needed.
More information: @alia_studio_ on Instagram