Bio
Hala Abubaker is an Arab artist, born in Jordan, of Palestinian descent, and currently residing in Ohio, United States. She obtained her BA in Visual Arts from the University of Jordan with a focus on Sculpture in 2013, making her one of the first women to study Sculpture in Jordan. She obtained her MFA in Sculpture + Expanded Practice at Ohio University. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Arts in an Artist/Scholar track, where she continues researching and advancing her art practice. Her work focuses on the human condition, from social and cultural identity to post-colonialist theories and power dynamics. It is central to her practice to explore the implications of external influence on the human psyche and its prevalence in the collective consciousness, conveying the underlying structures that shape and situate the identity of indoctrinated ideological dogmas. She uses her work to shift perceptions and assert connections to reveal the underlying structures that shape our identities. From her background in Sculpture, Abubaker creates objects and object-based installations as well as non-narrative videos and photography to illustrate her concepts. Her process is based on research and observations of her surrounding environment's social and geopolitical status. Her upbringing as an Arab woman observing the turmoil that ravaged her region formed the need to understand the phenomenological structures that construct the concepts of the Self and Other, becoming aware of an immense need for reflection on the human condition and, gradually, in different histories and cultures. Hala works with woven fabrics, body casts, lights, reflections, and metal fabrication to pursue her concepts. She has participated in several exhibitions and residencies in Jordan, Europe, and the United States.