Biography

Born in the Jerusalem refugee camp Shuafat, Jawad Al Malhi has used painting, photography, mixed media and even refrigeration, in work that is a remarkably consistent and insistent exploration of the spaces and experiences of marginalised communities, especially those in the place of his birth.

In the 2009 Sharjah Biennial Al Malhi exhibited Here (2009), a large-scale panoramic photographic montage of the Shuafat camp that conveys both its extreme architectural confinement and its very human reality.

In 2010 a major solo presentation of his work was held in London at both the Delfina Foundation, where he was artist-in-residence, and the Mosaic Rooms of the Al Qattan Foundation. Other solo exhibitions include Al Hoash Gallery, Jerusalem (2006) and Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris (2000).  His work has been shown in numerous group exhibitions including the Liverpool Biennial (2010), the Venice Biennale (2009), Gemak, The Hague (2008), and The Jerusalem Show, Al Ma’mal Foundation, Jerusalem (2008).

Al Malhi was shortlisted for the 2010 Prix Pictet and the 2009 Frieze Foundation Cartier Award. He was awarded residencies at the Cité International des Arts, Paris (1995) and the Radius Residency for Research Based Art in Eckernforde, Germany (2008).  In 2007 he received an MFA from the Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, UK. Jawad Al Malhi continues to live and work in the Shuafat refugee camp.

October 2010