Aisha Al-Abdulla
About:
Aisha Al-Abdulla is a Qatari multidisciplinary artist who tells stories through her fictional characters that get in touch with her inner child and personal experience. She combines fantasy narratives, world-building, character design and material exploration. The influence of Japanese pop culture and animation, western cartoons and video games have shaped her interests serving as inspiration for her visual language. She has a bachelor's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Painting and Printmaking. She exhibited her work in Doha and Berlin including her public art installation at Liwan and at the Garage Gallery in the Fire Station, Doha. Aisha was part of the art residency program at the Fire Station Artist Residency in 2023-2024 (AIR 8). Moreover, she has participated in the Jedeed action at Albahie Auction house in Qatar in 2024.
Artist Statement:
My body of work explores themes rooted in my childhood nostalgia and fantasy-whimsical narratives. I approach these themes through world-building, character design and material exploration particularly with recycled paper.
The core of my visual language comes from Japanese animation, video games like Animal Crossing and childhood toys that I collected such as My Little Pony and Littlest Pet Shop. I work across multiple mediums that include drawing, painting, sculpture, mixed media, paper pulp and installation.
My practice is intuitive and deeply rooted in repetition and muscle memory, focusing on the process rather than the concept, which reflects on my perfectionist and workaholic nature. My work is often vibrant and colorful evoking a whimsical and dreamlike quality and lets me escape from the dull reality. In today's fast-paced world, I feel the constant pressure to produce in overdrive mode. At the same time, my practice is a way to connect with my inner child, the part of me that once built an entire imaginative world out of toys.
Aisha Al-Abdulla is a Qatari multidisciplinary artist who tells stories through her fictional characters that get in touch with her inner child and personal experience. She combines fantasy narratives, world-building, character design and material exploration. The influence of Japanese pop culture and animation, western cartoons and video games have shaped her interests serving as inspiration for her visual language. She has a bachelor's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Painting and Printmaking. She exhibited her work in Doha and Berlin including her public art installation at Liwan and at the Garage Gallery in the Fire Station, Doha. Aisha was part of the art residency program at the Fire Station Artist Residency in 2023-2024 (AIR 8). Moreover, she has participated in the Jedeed action at Albahie Auction house in Qatar in 2024.
Artist Statement:
My body of work explores themes rooted in my childhood nostalgia and fantasy-whimsical narratives. I approach these themes through world-building, character design and material exploration particularly with recycled paper.
The core of my visual language comes from Japanese animation, video games like Animal Crossing and childhood toys that I collected such as My Little Pony and Littlest Pet Shop. I work across multiple mediums that include drawing, painting, sculpture, mixed media, paper pulp and installation.
My practice is intuitive and deeply rooted in repetition and muscle memory, focusing on the process rather than the concept, which reflects on my perfectionist and workaholic nature. My work is often vibrant and colorful evoking a whimsical and dreamlike quality and lets me escape from the dull reality. In today's fast-paced world, I feel the constant pressure to produce in overdrive mode. At the same time, my practice is a way to connect with my inner child, the part of me that once built an entire imaginative world out of toys.