Aliya's Friends

View All

aliya in 3D

Loading feed

aliya's Page

Profile Information

Are you an artist, arts organization or venue?: artist

In which disciplines do you work or exhibit?: Drawing/Painting/Printmaking, Sculpture/Installation

Artist Statement/Bio: In my work I seek to bring viewers together and into the piece by engaging them directly. I am interested in creating spaces or art pieces that invite the viewer to step outside of their normal ways of interacting with artwork, other people, and places. My pieces explore the dichotomy between intimacy and vulnerability, of attempting to state explicitly that which we are unable to say.

The pieces I make are invitations for the viewer to engage. My work is demanding, yet ideally mutually beneficial. The basis of it is creating the context and framework for others to easily engage and give part of themselves to the pieces. Each piece should be so easily engaged with, through clear articulation and presentation, that it compels the viewer to participate deeply of their own volition. For example, the viewer might be invited to share a story of a secret they have kept “hidden”. The viewer might feel more comfortable sharing because of the hand-made aesthetics of my work, which is like a personal invitation, and because the ideas and themes are clearly articulated through my presentation. The viewer gets to see other people's shared stories, and therefore they see how their contribution fits into the larger work. My work is installation-based in order to control the entire sharing experience for the viewer.

In creating opportunities for the viewer to have a new shared experience with other viewers or myself, I want to create a space where people are able to be fully self-expressed with each other. Why is it that while behaving “socially acceptable” we must remain serious, constrained, and withheld, holding back stories, questions, and ideas from those we want to share and connect with? In creating new, exciting, and unusual experiences for people to go through, I am providing an opportunity for strangers to now have something in common, something to talk about which could lead to a new friendship. I see that everyday people have incredible stories to tell each other and I want to create places where those stories are shared with the wider world.