b. 1981, Swaida Al-Kafer, Syria; lives in Paris, France
Nagham Hodaifa’s drawings and paintings relate to the human condition through the representation of the body. Nightgown (Suit) is part of a body of work inspired by a nightgown given...
Nagham Hodaifa’s drawings and paintings relate to the human condition through the representation of the body. Nightgown (Suit) is part of a body of work inspired by a nightgown given to her by her grandmother. The head and face of the subject are intentionally not shown and the fragmented body directs the attention of the viewer. Without the gaze and its inherent dualities to greet the viewer, the painted body becomes the focus and forces the encounter.
Hodaifa graduated from the Department of Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus University (2003) and received her PhD in Contemporary Art History from the Paris-Sorbonne University (2015). She has held numerous exhibitions and performances, sometimes creating multi-disciplinary events by combining painting with music, dance, poetry and calligraphy. Her works have been acquired by the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, Galerie Claude Lemand, and by private collectors internationally.