INTRODUCING ABDULLA ELMAZ’S FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION: 13 CENTS

words by ANOUK WOUDT

Currently based in Dubai, Australian-born Abdulla Elmaz is a visual artist that focuses on weaving conceptual storytelling and symbolism into portrait-centered photography. His work uses metaphorical motifs to transcribe a delicate intertwining of personal history, memory and identity in a manner that language alone cannot express. Through his first solo exhibition, ‘13 Cents’, he embarks on a new chapter of his artistic journey, unveiling a fierce vulnerability that balances both intimacy and confrontation.

all images courtesy of Abdulla Elmaz

The exhibition opens into a contemporary art landscape, transporting us instantly into a myriad of absurdist adventures. Each portrait centres a new facet of Elmaz’s identity draped in a thick symbolism that guides us through his mind’s eye. Created over the course of four years, emotional honesty and nostalgia envelop every inch of this project as it serves as a reflection for his life path. In a deliberate expression of vulnerability, every art piece is inserted with a fragment of personal narrative which helps to usher us through the phases of his creative process in an industry that tends to spits you out. Reoccurring imagery of chairs, hands, water, and the color red also appear throughout the gallery, each used respectively as vessels for underlying meanings rather than simply aesthetic devices.

Each portrait is accompanied by an introspective caption and a song that served as inspiration, with mentions of artists such as Lana Del Rey, FKA Twigs and Taylor Swift. The brief captions clarify Elmaz’s headspace, while leaving space for interpretation, in a true artist’s fashion. Crossing throughout themes such as anger, anxiety and nostalgic longing, this exhibition takes you on an emotional rollercoaster through the inner workings of Abdulla Elmaz’s psyche.