The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts

Faisal Abdu’Allah: Dark Matter

Institution
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
Grant Cycle
Fall 2021
Amount
$50,000
Type of Grant
Exhibition Support
Website
www.mmoca.org/events/faisal-abduallah-dark-matter ↗
Faisal Abdu’Allah, The Duppy Conqueror (triptych), 2017. Jacquard tapestries, 117 x 60 inches, each. Courtesy of the artist.
Faisal Abdu’Allah, Untitled I, from the series Dullah 69, 2010/2012. Photo etching on paper, 16 x 15 inches. Courtesy of the artist.
Faisal Abdu’Allah, Untitled II, from the series I Wanna Kill Sam ‘Cause He Ain’t My Mutherfucking Uncle, 1993/2022. Inkjet print on aluminum, 78 3⁄4 x 39 1/3 inches. Courtesy of the artist.
Blu³eprint in front of Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 2022. Photo by Sarah Maughan.

DARK MATTER by British artist Faisal Abdu’Allah explores cultural representation and the systems of power that structure our experiences of the world.

DARK MATTER includes a selection of the artist’s most celebrated series, as well as a reconstruction of Garden of Eden (2003), an architectural installation the artist created in collaboration with renowned architect Sir David Adjaye. Exploring issues of privilege, exclusion, and the voyeuristic gaze, this interactive piece separates visitors based on genetic traits—in this case, eye color—in order to undermine our perceptions of difference and alienation. With Garden of Eden, Abdu’Allah points to the privileges conferred to certain people based on the nuances of their genetic matter.

DARK MATTER will also feature a counter-monument by Abdu’Allah, which he first conceived of several years ago in response to debates about the role of monuments and their removal from public view. His solution was to commission artists of color to create new monuments that represent their own aesthetics, histories, and experiences.

See Also

1976

Warhol acquires the first of several compact 35 mm cameras, and over the next 11 years shot approximately 130,000 black-and-white images, claiming that “having a few rolls of film to develop gives me a good reason to get up in the morning.”