Common Black Blocks (2022)

Waheeda Malullah
Common Black Blocks
2022
8 inkjet prints on matte rag paper
66.75 x 100 cm (each)
Courtesy of the artist

Overview

Waheeda Malullah’s practice examines the socialised norms of Bahraini society and the wider Arabian Gulf through a playful, performative lens. The photographic series Common Black Blocks (2022) depicts the breakdown of a multitude of charcoal blocks, each inscribed with the name of a contemporary physical and ideological border. As they disintegrate throughout the work’s eight frames, they transform into an all-encompassing mass of dust. The work illustrates the phenomena of historical recurrences, witnessed here in all its destructive and regenerative potential from a detached, aerial vantage point.