A practice of psyche, heritage
and the body in diaspora.
Tania Ali (b. 2003) is a paintress based in South London, of Kurdish heritage. Her practice explores the psyche, blending figurative elements with SWANA mythology to create immersive visual narratives that foster dialogue about the intersections of gender, migration, and societal taboos.
Focusing on contemporary figuration, her immersive visual narratives aim to foster dialogue concerning the intersections of gender, migration, and societal taboos such as honour-based expectations and 3eib culture. Ali’s work places her identity at the core, addresses challenges related to accessing Kurdish cultural materials, and highlights the lived experiences of individuals navigating complex identities. Her work often functions as a critical reflection on personal encounters and observations as an Indigenous person residing outside narrowly defined societal expectations. Her most recent body of work engages with digital spaces and their impact on our subconscious perception of identity. The digital realm has created a space where comedy and violence coexist on the same swipe, influencing how we consume and create art. Responding to these conditions necessitates a critical awareness of one's own positionality and an acknowledgement of diaspora privilege, particularly when physically and temporally distanced from immediate realities. For this reason, her work avoids replicating the physical world by incorporating unnatural elements. Instead, she carefully selects a mixture of lowbrow digital imagery that blends regional traditions with pop culture and political satire. This serves as an informal archive of SWANA and Muslim identities that resists stereotypes.
Materials & methods
- — Oil and acrylic on canvas, panel and wood
- — Gouache, watercolour, and oil pastel on paper
- — Risograph printing for the editioned series
- — Hand-bound zines and small prints