Dove

Medium: Acrylic and papier mâché on canvas
Year: 2024
Dimensions: 197 x 207 cm
Edition: Unique artwork
Shipment: stretched on canvas

About:

This work is an exploration of grief, approached through the framework of abject femininity, a concept which has informed this recent series in the artist's work. In this piece, Alawadhi employs the distortion of form to challenge limitations in the spectrum of permissible public expression, portraying grief not merely as an emotional state but as a tangible, consuming force.

The central figure cups the lifeless body of a dove—a symbol of peace, yet in death it is instead one of sorrow. Oversized tears cascade down the figure’s face, emphasizing the anguish in what is lost. The contorted form and roughly textured surface compel the viewer to confront the often-sanitized representations of mourning and drawing attention to the fine line between personal grief and its consumption as a spectacle.

The work aims to probe the nuanced and critical relationship between private anguish and its public reception, contemplating the consumption of suffering and the boundaries between empathy and voyeurism.