Biography
Sophia Al Maria is an artist, writer and filmmaker. Known for coining the term 'Gulf futurism', she is primarily interested in issues related to consumerism, technology and the loss of traditional culture in the Arabian Gulf.
Solo exhibitions of her work include Black Friday, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2016) and Virgin with a Memory, Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK (2014). Her work has also been shown in various group exhibitions, such as do it بالعربي, Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE (2016); Repetition, Villa Empain, Boghossian Foundation, Brussels (2016); Imitation of Life, HOME, Manchester, UK (2016); In Search of Lost Time, The Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (2016); 89plus: Filter Bubble, LUMA Westbau, Zurich (2015); Surround Audience, the Triennial, New Museum, New York (2015); Common Grounds, Villa Stuck, Munich (2015); Extinctions Marathon: Visions of the Future, Serpentine Gallery, London (2014); Do It, Manchester Art Gallery, UK (2013); Roundtable, 9th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea (2012); For Your Eyes Only, St. Paul Street Gallery, AUT University, Auckland, NZ (2012); In Spite of Ourselves: Approaching Documentary, Dowse Museum, Wellington, NZ (2012); Genre Specific Xperience, New Museum, New York (2011); Bendari & the Bunduqia, Waqif Art Centre, Doha (2007) and We Few: A Comic Palindrome, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo (2005).
In 2007, she published an autobiographical novel, The Girl Who Fell to Earth, and she recently guest-edited Fresh Hell, the eighth issue of the journal The Happy Hypocrite. Her writing has also appeared in Harper’s Magazine, Five Dials, Triple Canopy and Bidoun.
Al Maria received a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature at the American University in Cairo (2006) and a MFA in Aural and Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London. She has also participated in the Inhabitation residency at Villa Empain, Boghossian Foundation, Brussels (2016).
Born in 1983, Al Maria currently lives and works in London.
Related
do it بالعربي
Join in, take part and collaborate as individuals, families, friends – as a community, together in do it بالعربي [in Arabic] – a project organised by Sharjah Art Foundation.