Private View: The Echo of Time with Afifa Aleiby

A mysterious, sombre female figure leads us silently through a series of vivid and surreal settings. Both sculptural and ethereal she appears in different forms, hovering between worlds, just as the imagery that surrounds her creates a layered impression of familiarity and mystery, closeness and distance, ancient and modern. These are the themes that Iraqi artist Afifa Aleiby balances in her uniquely alluring and poetic paintings. For her first solo exhibition entitled The Echo of Time at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery London, Aleiby presents a collection of old and new works that are connected by their distinct style and temporal fluidity. The artist merges personal and collective histories, social and political regimes, artistic movements and cultural identities to create a highly original visualisation of subjective experience, imagination and memory.