Steve Turner is pleased to present Waters That Never Quench, a solo exhibition by London-based painter Shadi Al-Atallah that features new imaginary self-portraits which position the artist in hellish domestic settings. Dark, dynamic and distorted figures seek to convey the absurdity of conflicting emotional states. The paintings consist of brush strokes quickly made, a technique that the artist describes as necessary to convey their thoughts and attitudes. They use painting to escape the constraints of language and to invent genderless figures that embody an ambiguity that language rarely grants. In so doing, they convey Al-Atallah’s ideas on gender and sexuality while remaining obscure enough so that viewers can connect with the works on their own terms.
Shadi Al-Atallah (born 1994, Saudi Arabia) earned a BA at the University of the Arts, London (2018) before earning an MA at the Royal College of Art, London (2021). They have had solo exhibitions at Guts Gallery, London (2021); Hammond Projects, London (2020) and Cob Gallery, London (2018). This the artist’s debut solo exhibition in the United States.