Abdul Abdullah
Born 1986, Perth; lives and works Sydney
A Little Push, 2023
oil on linen
198 x 162 cm
Bendigo Art Gallery Collection, 2024.
Image courtesy of the artist.
Visual description:
This hyperreal painting of an ocean scene is easily mistaken for a photograph. The image depicts a large, jagged rock rising above churning water. White foam breaks around the rock as waves crash against it, creating splashes and swirling patterns. Over the surface of the rock, simple white line drawings have been added in a humorous cartoon style: suggesting a smiling face and two hands positioned as though waving or beckoning.
Curator’s insights:
A little push is a detailed seascape featuring a craggy, partially submerged rock in the centre of a foaming ocean. Transforming the natural scene, a cartoonish face and simplified hand gestures are painted over the top in thick white lines. This bold intervention gives the rock expressive human-like features that convey a sense of optimism amidst the turbulent ocean. Since 2019, Abdul Abdullah has focussed his artistic practice on investigating how boundaries and borders shape inclusion and exclusion, using natural barriers like oceans, rivers, and mountains as metaphors for the challenges of navigating geographical and social divides. From 2020–2024 he created numerous works featuring anthropomorphised rocks set amongst natural landscapes, sourced from stock images commonly seen on social media and in advertising. The series was sparked by an image of a turbulent ocean deterring people from seeking asylum in Australia by boat and has since evolved to reflect on both physical and psychological journeys, from migration to seeking asylum as well as internal quests of self-discovery. Initially centred on perilous journeys and their attending anxieties, over time, the rocks have become optimistic sentinels, embodying moments of respite and encouragement along life’s journey.