Kareen Adam (MKA) Maldives - There Will Come A Time

KAREEN / MKA

Kareen is a visual artist currently based in Melbourne sharing her time between Maldives and Australia. The experience of living between multiple cultures, particularly negotiating between the East and the West informs her practice. Ideas about transitions, cultural identity, and the juncture between 'local' and the 'visitor' emerge in her work. Kareen explores these ideas using various mediums including printmaking, drawing, painting and mixed media. However, it is the processes involved in printmaking which Kareen finds most suitable to the concepts she expresses in her work, both in its production and aesthetics. Kareen is the creator and maker “Kudaingili” - a range of hand-made, hand-printed products. Kareen has curated exhibitions, and displayed art works in Brisbane, Melbourne, Hong Kong, several Asia Pacific countries, and Maldives. She has a Diploma in Visual Arts from the Southbank Institute of Technology, Brisbane and a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology from the Queensland University of Technology.
  

 

The Gossipers 

ceramic, handbuilt, crackle glaze

 These three figures depict an aspect of island life where people, generally women visit each other in the afternoon, catching up on the day's news and gossip.

The World Is A Universe (2007), acrylic and white charcoal on paper, 21 x 14.8 cm

 Torso 1 (2009), monotype

Torso 2 (2009), monotype

Reclining figure 1 (2009), monotype

Reclining figure 2 (2009), monotype

Seated figure 1 (2009), monotype

Seated figure 2 (2009), monotype

 Seated figure 2 (2009), monotype

Tree (2009), drypoint

 Sail The Seven Seas, 2009, collagraph

 There Will Come A Time

Fragile edible mushrooms painted over packaging templates poses the question of how far we will go to provide 'fresh' products to the ever growing population.

This series was a selected as one of the three finalists for the St. George Green Dragon Art Prize, Brisbane, 2010.

Medium: ink, gouache, pencil, photocopy, acrylic
Year: 2010

Parasol Mushrooms

 Horn of Plenty

Half-Life 1 (2010), screenprint, graphite, pen on card paper, 14 x 14 cm

 The Next Day (2010), hardground etching and aquatint

 Exit Paradise, 2011, linocut

 Amir's Mother (2011

1 (2011)

2 (2011) 

3 (2011)

4 (2011)

A mixed media collage exercise. Textures and colours were created using pigment and organic substances including turmeric, ground cumin, mustard seeds, sesame seeds, ash, sand and tar. 

We Suffer for No One 1 (2011), acrylic on canvas, 40 x 60 cm

We Exist (2011), acrylic on canvas, 40 x 60 cm

We Suffer for No One 2 (2011), acrylic on canvas, 40 x 60 cm

 Face It (2011), acrylic and gouache on canvas, 20 x 20 cm 

Fix It (2011), acrylic and gouache on canvas, 20 x 20 cm

Eventually, It Came (2011), acrylic on paper, 30 x 25 cm

She Felt Small (2011), acrylic on paper, 30 x 25 cm

 Rannamari (2011), acrylic on paper, 30 x 25 cm

 Colour Study 1 (2011), acrylic on paper, 42 x 59 cm

 Water, Rock, Leaf (2011), graphite, water colour and guache on paper, 23 x 33 cm

 Dancin Wimen

A fun series of ink paintings - women in motion, flowing, dancing. I created these inspired by looseness of ink flowing on paper.
Medium: ink, watercolour, gel pen on paper
Size: 297 x 210 mm
Year: 2012

 "Stuck Between a Rock and an Empty Space"

This series of paintings explores the dilemma of abundant choices in modern society, and the search for a balance between stability and freedom.

Medium: acrylic, pencil and wood carving tools on wood
Size: 15 x 15 cm

This series was first exhibited at the City Library of Melbourne Flinder's Lane November to December 2015.

Papillary Carcinoma

Processing the journey of Thyroid Cancer

Size: 297 x 400mm
Medium: Digital print and cotton thread on paper
Year: 2016

Monuments

A new body of work in process reflecting and commenting on the loss of a much loved place.


Artist Statement
The purpose of a monument is to celebrate and preserve part of our history and cultural experience. Monuments are also created to commemorate the dead and gone.

Since 2013 I have been collecting and making images of rocks and pieces of coral. The aesthetics of these porous yet solid objects appeal to me. Connotations of home, stability, and grounding come to mind when I think of rocks. Yet, rocks and corals are fragile and at the mercy of time, natural elements and human intervention.

I became fascinated with these rocks at Varunulaa Raalhugandu (the local surf point and a popular hangout spot) after returning back to Male’ after a long period living abroad. Like many other people in Male’, Raalhugandu was a special place for me. It was a place of quiet contemplation and relaxation, even on the most hectic and crowded days. I remember Raalhugandu as it was before its most recent transformation. No doubt it has been through many changes since the beginning of time, and so it will continue to change in the future as well.

I want to preserve my memory of Raalhugandu as I experienced it in my lifetime. These ‘Monument’ paintings were created to rejoice those memories of Raalhugandu as well as mourn the loss of a very significant place to my life.


Size: 46x46 cm
Medium: Ink, pencil, pencil colour, acrylic, spray paint, wooden frame
Year: 2017

 KUDAINGILI

 Kareen Adam (MKA)

...a suivre...