‘Learning by Heart’ by Libyan-Canadian artist Arwa Abouon

DUBAI / The Third Line shows Libyan-Canadian artist Arwa Abouon, with a new body of work that explores the artistâ€™s own private journey in matters of spirituality, personal dynamics and human natureâ€™s quest towards understanding faith. The exhibition will run until November 29, 2012.

'Learning by Heart' by Arwa Abouon at The Third Line in Dubai / Photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

As a thematic continuation from her previous work, this photographic series draws from the artistâ€™s personal experiences and self-reflection, attempting to articulate such abstract and elusive notions as human emotion and in particular oneâ€™s relationship with faith.

Through her photography, Abouonâ€™s on-going spiritual investigation takes her audience into the systematic process in which the artist draws her conclusions about self, piety and her role within society. The artist reveals through her work that the most effective way of learning involves repetition, particularly through trial and error, ultimately leading us to our truest and highest potential.

Borrowing from historical Islamic adornment, traditions and idioms, the artist playfully highlights her introspective pilgrimage with the use of digitally enhanced photography. The subject of her series further underpins her personal approach to this study, capturing a fleeting moment of shared emotion of her greatest inspiration: her parents. Balancing playful humor, re-appropriation and respectful homage, Abouonâ€™s work is visually intricate and subtle yet remains, as ever, powerful in its delivery.

Arwa Abouon, I'm Sorry / I Forgive You (Diptych), Digital prints and Graphically Ornamented frame, 101.6 x 76.2 inches each / Photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

Arwa Abouon, I'm Sorry / I Forgive You (Diptych), Digital prints and Graphically Ornamented frame / Photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

I'm Sorry / I Forgive You (Diptych), Digital prints and Graphically Ornamented frame / Photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

Silent Sight by Arwa Abouon, 2012, Digital prints, 50,80 x 50,80 cm each / Photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

Silent Sight (Allahu Akbar), 2012, Digital print, 50,80 x 50,80 cm / Photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

Silent Sight (Muhammad Braille), 2012, Digital print, 50,80 x 50,80 cm / Photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

Silent Sight (Hear), 2012, Digital print, 50,80 x 50,80 cm / Photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

Silent Sight (Allah Braille), 2012, Digital print, 50,80 x 50,80 cm / Photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

Silent Sight (See), 2012, Digital print, 50,80 x 50,80 cm / Photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

Silent Sight (Duaa), 2012, Digital print, 50,80 x 50,80 cm / Photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

Mirror, Mirror, Allah, Allah, 2012 / Photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

About Arwa Abouon

Arwa Abouon was born in Tripoli, Libya and earned a BFA with honors, Major in Design Art from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada in 2007. Recent group exhibitions include: Cross Borders, Museum of Contemporary Art at the ZKM, Germany; 25 Ans de CrÃ©ativitÃ© Arabe, Institut du Monde Arabe; Bamako Encounters, Bamako Biennale, Mali; Anybody, Art House Gallery Tripoli, Libya; Bring The Noise: Seeing Yourself in My Brown Eyes, Salomon Contemporary, The Hamptons, New York; Figure/Ground: Four Women and their Surroundings, The Third Line, Dubai; Designed, Centre CDP Capital, Montreal; and Sporadic Subtitles, VAV Gallery, Montreal. In 2006-2007, Abouon created a commissioned site-specific installation in Flashback/Forward: A Visual Timeline of Cultural practices in the Middle East, Dubai, UAE. Abouon was the 2004 Photo Department Prize Winner at Concordia University and the 2004 Mills Purchase Prize Winner, Leonard and Bina Ellen Gallery in Montreal, Canada. Abouon currently lives and works in Montreal, Canada.