Waleed Aly

Abdul Abdullah was born in Perth, Western Australia, in 1986 and graduated in 2008 from Curtin University. He works across a variety of disciplines including painting, photography, video, installation and performance and has won numerous prizes and awards. As a self-described ‘outsider amongst outsiders’ his practice is primarily concerned with the societal experiences of the ‘other’ and he is particularly interested in the experience of young Muslims in the contemporary multicultural Australian context. Through his processes and explorations Abdullah extrapolates this outlook to an examination of universal aspects of human nature. Abdul Abdullah first heard of Aly in 2009 when his father gave him a copy of People Like Us. ‘I admired his capacity to see things from both sides. I see Waleed as a deep-thinker and I wanted to depict him in a moment of self-reflection, composing his thoughts.’ Abdul’s portrait of Waleed Aly was shortlisted as a finalist for the 2011 Archibald Prize, making him the youngest ever finalist in one of Australia’s longest running and most prestigious art prizes.