Raja'a Khalid's Practice Examines Gulf Material Culture Through Packaging and Performance
Dubai-based artist Raja'a Khalid examines the material culture of the Gulf through her packaging-focused artwork, steering clear of self-orientalization. Her pieces tackle issues such as conspicuous consumption and post-Western gender and class dynamics, notably illustrated in her 2017 piece Change Your Life, which depicts men in neon attire at a Mecca-green gym. In 2017, she held solo exhibitions titled FASTEST WITH THE MOSTEST and Change Your Life in Dubai. The following year, she contributed to the 6th Athens Biennale, ANTI, and showcased Palace gossip at Grey Noise in Dubai. Khalid employs technical fabrics and car paint-coated panels, critiquing modern Gulf lifestyles while sidestepping state-sanctioned narratives. This profile by Rahel Aima appeared in ArtReview's January-February 2019 edition, in collaboration with K11 Art Foundation.
Key facts
- Raja'a Khalid is an artist based in Dubai
- Her solo exhibitions include FASTEST WITH THE MOSTEST at Tashkeel and Change Your Life at Alserkal Avenue in 2017
- In 2018, her work was shown at the 6th Athens Biennale ANTI
- She presented Palace gossip, a performed reading with a hooded gyrfalcon, at Grey Noise in Dubai
- Khalid's practice examines Gulf material culture through packaging and materials like technical fabrics and car paint
- Her work Change Your Life (2017) explores post-Western class and gender construction in a gym setting
- She wrote an essay for THE STATE, a Dubai-based journal, on the conflict between Hindi and Urdu
- This profile was published in the January and February 2019 issue of ArtReview in association with K11 Art Foundation
Entities
Artists
- Raja'a Khalid
- F.T. Marinetti
- Rahel Aima
Institutions
- THE STATE
- Tashkeel
- Alserkal Avenue
- Athens Biennale
- Grey Noise
- ArtReview
- K11 Art Foundation
Locations
- Dubai
- United Arab Emirates
- Brooklyn
- United States
- Athens
- Greece
- Geneva
- Switzerland
- Arabian Gulf