Artist

Sophia Al-Maria

Born in Tacoma, 1983 and lives in London

Sophia Al Maria is an artist, writer and filmmaker. She studied comparative literature at the American University in Cairo, and aural and visual cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London. For the past few years, she has been carrying out research around the concept of Gulf Futurism. Her primary interests are around the isolation of individuals via technology and reactionary Islam, the corrosive elements of consumerism and industry, and the erasure of history and the blinding approach of a future no one is ready for. She explores these ideas with certain guidebooks and ideas including, but not limited to, Zizek’s The Desert of the Unreal, As-Sufi’s Islamic Book of the Dead, as well as imagery from Islamic eschatology, post humanism and the global mythos of Science Fiction.

Exhibitions
Exhibitions
Age of You
On view at Jameel Arts Centre, the exhibition explores the perception of self in the 21st century
29 Jan 2021 - 14 Aug 2021
Jameel Arts Centre
Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi
Exhibitions
not in, of, along, or relating to a line
A virtual show exploring artistic expressions through technology in a Covid-19 world
20 Jan 2021 - 10 Jul 2021
The NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery
Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi
Exhibitions
Sophia Al-Maria: Black Friday
Featuring a new video and installation, Sophia Al-Maria: Black Friday debuts at the Whitney Museum of...
26 Jul 2016 - 31 Oct 2016
Whitney Museum of American Art
New York
Exhibitions
We Dance, We Smoke, We Kiss
This is a tale of a slicked wedding singer from the Gaza Strip who won “Arab Idol”. This...
17 Sep 2016 - 10 Dec 2016
Fahrenheit
Los Angeles
Exhibitions
Beloved Bodies II
This March Barjeel Art Foundation presents the second part of “Beloved Bodies”, an exhibition showcasing...
01 Mar 2017 - 01 Oct 2017
Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi
Exhibitions
Sophia Al-Maria: Mirror Cookie
Artist Sophia Al-Maria‘s project at Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro, Milan, is part of the 2019 cycle...
14 Mar 2019 - 31 May 2019
Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro
Milan
Exhibitions
Sophia Al-Maria: Beast Type Song
Curated by Nathan Ladd, the exhibition at Tate Britain –  part of the exhibition series “Art...
20 Sep 2019 - 26 Jan 2020
Tate Britain
London
Exhibitions
Transformer: The Rebirth Of Wonder
Inaugurating during Frieze Art Week, the collective exhibition by the Vinyl Factory features new works...
02 Oct 2019 - 08 Dec 2019
180 The Strand
London
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