8 Sep – 1 Oct 2022
Unfamiliar States is a collection of works on canvas by Moroccan visual artist Rahma Lhoussig. Calling on unconscious memory and internal conversation, this series of paintings creates an open story highlighting the experiences of the inner world in relation to what surrounds it.
Meditating upon the relationship between body, memory and meaning, the artist uses oil paints, acrylics, pastels & coloured pencils to create colourful scenes that translate the human psyche into a sensorial experience. Unfamiliar States identifies emotions as anchor points and catalysts for our daily lives; the body, often linked to forces in the form of everyday objects, then acts to represent unconscious internal conflicts.
These intentionally unfinished pieces reflect the fragmented nature of memory, with figures presented in states of rest, immersion or hidden behind masks. Inhabiting a space different to the world around them, yet part of it, the figures experience moments of submission, fatigue, fragility, and reckoning with the animals and domestic objects in their orbit. Unfamiliar States examines how our perception and recollection of an environment influences our connection to it. The artist’s paintings and drawings depict an iconography of the unfinished – eclectic elements shift the work into the mystical realm of dreams.
Rahma Lhoussig says: ‘Our dreams allow us to discover unnoticed, hidden parts of ourselves. My work looks at the unconscious like an allegory, uncovering pieces of stories formed from memory, thought, and emotion. I’m fascinated by the relationship between the conscious and unconscious states, how our habits, routines and attitudes are all influenced by our emotions, and the ways we attribute meaning to our surroundings through our senses. This dialogue helps me to uncover more of the cryptic inner nature of us as humans. Through this work I'm building a parallel dimension where different representations intertwine, to invent a new way of appropriating this unknown mysterious universe.’