Alia Hamaoui, Artist in Residence

About

Layered fragments, muted tones and lost histories
are interwoven into Alia Hamaoui’s multidisciplinary
practice. A combination of print, painting and
‘construction’; Hamaoui’s work embodies a shift
from physical remnants of the past to the digitising
of memories. It’s the combination of all of these
disciplines which makes her work so tangible.
You become enticed by the multitude of surfaces.
Each piece demands your attention through its
concrete presence.
The ‘constructions’ which Hamaoui creates
are solid and totemic, acting as frames for historic
and cultural imagery. It’s telling that she names her
3-D pieces ‘constructions’ rather than sculptures.
It gives the audience a sense that rather than each
structure acting as whole entity, it is in fact a layering
of components which together form a narrative of
cultural identity. The interplay between relics and the
digital manifest in both physical and metaphorical
forms. There is a sense of antipodal aesthetics;
transparency and opacity, solidity and fluidity,
textured and smooth. These visuals seek to explore
the interchangeable materiality of the ‘artefact’.
The materials used - brick, mortar, ceramic – pose
a reconfiguration of the domestic space. Soap is
embedded with coloured material causing ripples of
texture, sharp square blocks of tile are pressed into
plaster and mesh fabric is stretched to show images
of archaeological remains.

During Hamaoui’s residency at Artist Run in
Peckham, she has continued to explore how digital
technology and data is intercepting our perspective
on historical narratives. These ‘windows’ of digital
imagery, encased with architectural materials,
become memorials for the future, an ode to what
may or may not still be or put simply, future relics.
Hamaoui was born in France and grew up in Lebanon
and England. She recently graduated from Camberwell
College of Arts and lives and works in London. She
is also currently artist in residence at Artist Run in
Peckham. Her first solo show opens at Artist Run on
Thursday 18th October. The show will run until
21st October.