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Shadi Al-Atallah creates large-scale figurative paintings. The dark and dynamic figures depicted in the mixed-media works are distorted self-portraits. Drawing connections between the Queer ballroom scene and folkloric dance traditions from the African diaspora, Al-Atallah explores ideas of performativity, spirituality and catharsis.
Working in rapid motion, Al-Atallah paints fast to avoid their thoughts slipping and each painting documents a single hazy moment in time. They are interested in examining the space between the mundane and the spiritual. Al-Atallah has further described painting as a means to escape the constraints of language. It allows them to invent genderless figures, an ambiguity that language rarely grants. That the work remains enigmatic, also invites the viewer to connect with the artwork on their terms.
They were right, 2023 addresses our shared concerns about apocalyptic destruction, while expressing a yearning for tenderness and vulnerability. In a composition also inspired by Mesopotamian and Greek depictions of wrestling, the entwined figures appear to be at the edge of a quarrel or an affectionate embrace. Queer intimacy meets science fiction in this vivid depiction of fear and desire. One figure, adorned with wings and fly-like antennae, suggests the possibility of alien invasion and has been described by the artist as an embodiment of our collective fears and anxieties about the unknown. The painted scene prompts viewers to consider how Queer intimacy and desire intersect with our broader worries about the world.
Shadi Al-Atallah in their studio. Photo: Brynley Odu Davies. Courtesy of Guts Gallery Shadi Al-Atallah (b. 1994, Khobar, Saudi Arabia) lives and works in London. Selected exhibitions include: Rapture, Steve Turner, Los Angeles, 2023, Fist Fight, Guts Gallery, London, 2023, Waters That Never Quench, Steve Turner, Los Angeles, 2022 and Dreaming of Home, The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, New York, 2023.
Provenance
Donated by the artist and Guts Gallery
4
They Were Right
signed with the artist's initials and dated 'RW8' on the reverse; signed 'RW*' on the stretcher
acrylic, ink, pencil and oil pastel on canvas
170.5 x 156 cm (67 1/8 x 61 3/8 in.)
Painted in 2023.
Estimate
£8,000 - 12,000 ♠
Olivia Taylor
Head of Sale
+44 7823 791 633
otaylor@phillips.com
Whitechapel Gallery Art Icon: Charity Online Auction
12 - 19 March 2024
1
Caroline Wong
Party Scene
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000 ♠
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2
Gray Wielebinski
All The Wounds You Could Get
Estimate £4,000 - 6,000 ♠
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3
Rene Matić
Pink Shoes at a Party
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4
Shadi Al–Atallah
They Were Right
Estimate £8,000 - 12,000 ♠
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5
Miranda Forrester
How Does It Feel?
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000 ♠
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6
Isaac Julien
Black Apollo Diptych (Once Again... Statues Never Die)
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000 ♠
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7
Gaby Sahhar
Memory of a Journey
Estimate £4,000 - 6,000 ♠
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8
Campbell Addy
Am I Paining You? (Diptych)
Estimate £3,000 - 5,000 ♠
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9
Jyll Bradley
Self Portrait 1987-2023
Estimate £4,000 - 6,000 ♠
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10
Clifford Prince King
Sonny and David
Estimate £2,000 - 3,000 ♠
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11
Anya Paintsil
You're My Brother, You're My Keeper, I Need You To Keep An Eye On Me
Estimate £4,000 - 6,000 ♠
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12
Chantal Joffe
Study for 'A Sunday Afternoon in Whitechapel' V
Estimate £8,000 - 12,000 ♠
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13
Kate Groobey
Higher II
Estimate £4,000 - 6,000 ♠
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14
Hannah Tilson
The City Speaks To Her
Estimate £3,000 - 4,000 ♠
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15
Jerome
People Who Believe
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16
Charmaine Watkiss
Guardian of The Four Directions
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17
Katarzyna Perlak
Uprooted
Estimate £1,000 - 2,000 ♠
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18
Private Artist-Led Tour of Sonia Boyce exhibition plus lunch with the artist and Whitechapel Gallery Director
Estimate £1,000 - 2,000
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