Magzoid Magazine - Luxury Magazine in the Creative Space | June 2023

Narrative and abstract work depicting
identity, language, materiality and memory
- Exclusive to Magzoid
Sarah Almehairi, born in 1998, is a
practicing artist from Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates, and an Art
and Art History major at New York
University Abu Dhabi, class of 2019. Al Mehairi
expresses herself in different mediums,
including mixed media, sculpture, painting,
book art, and fiber art. Her art explores the
themes of identity, language, materiality and
memory through narrative work as well as abstraction.
Al Mehairi also authors poetry that
inspire and are incorporated in her artwork.
Her works challenge conventional modes of
artistic production and questions the cultural
and social constructs of traditional artistic practices.
She has worked with Shoofi Art Calendar,
interned with Abu Dhabi Art and the NYUAD
Art Gallery. Al Mehairi has been a part of the
2019 Youth Takeover group show at Jameel
Arts Centre, Tashkeel’s 2019 group exhibition
“Play”, exhibited at the CultureSummit Abu
Dhabi 2018, the 35th Annual Emirates Fine Art
Society Exhibition in 2018, and exhibited her
final capstone solo show in NYUAD’s Project
Space titled “Between”.
“A thread is pulled through to make a mark.
Time and time again the motion continues to
complete a whole. With this, with every thread,
a part of a story is being told. My art practice
occurs at the intersection of narrative and abstraction.
I explore ideas of place by looking
at locations directly connected to my identity
but know least about, while also engaging
with geometric shapes, materials and form.
New compositions–maps–are created, fitting
shapes, making a place, “piecing” an identity.
Through the process, moments of unfolding
and repositioning take place, order is imposed
and language asserts a structure. As a result,
these elements towards telling a story is not
so explicit, it is one exploring the push and
pull of concealing and revealing.” Says Sarah
“Through this, I have gained inspiration and
access to my inherited heritage. I use family
archives of photos, recipes, and letters to ask
questions; to find a way to position myself
between it all. My artwork is mainly 2D, using
fabric and paper, with subtle sculptural elements.
I work with a restricted neutral color
palette, and language, to lend structure to
this investigation. My work fluctuates between
image and poetry, narrative and abstract. Elements
of lines and layers are used throughout
my pieces to explore clarity and organization.
The threads are used in an attempt to tie it all
together.” Adds the artist
-feature@magzoid.com
www.magzoid.com June 2023
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