© Alia Ali, courtesy of Galerie Peter Sillem
On view
Art of the Islamic World
Radio, from the series FLUX,
2019
Alia Ali, born 1985, Austria; active Marrakesh, Morocco and Los Angeles, CA
2021-3
With a childhood that spanned seven countries and five languages, Ali draws on references to the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa to investigate what happens to culture and identity at geographic crossroads. In the series FLUX, she focuses on the history and circulation of wax-printed textiles. Based on the Javanese batik technique for dyeing cloth and industrialized by the Dutch in the nineteenth century, wax-resist textiles circulated along colonial trade routes, becoming especially popular in West African clothing. Working with contemporary wax-print fabric made in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Nigeria, or the Netherlands, Ali creates portraits that conceal personal identity while making the silhouettes highly visible.
Information
Title
Radio, from the series FLUX
Dates
2019
Maker
Medium
Inkjet print with wax print fabric
Dimensions
frame: 124.5 × 88.9 × 7 cm (49 × 35 × 2 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund
Object Number
2021-3
Type
Materials
Techniques
Subject
The artist; [Galerie Peter Sillern, Frankfurt, Germany]; purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum, 2021.
