Magical Thinking

Yavuz Gallery presents Abdul Abdullah's fourth solo exhibition, titled Magical Thinking. This new body of work continues Abdullah's series of anthropomorphised rocks within vivid natural idylls, presenting playful, animist encounters. Abdullah paints detailed landscapes appropriated from stock image banks and then enlivens them with bold emoji faces and humanised gestures in his signature white lines. These rocky sentinels act as markers for new beginnings, offering an embrace or a wave that imply a sense of reunion after a period of departure. Magical Thinking is Abdullah's first solo show in Australia in four years and expands upon his long-standing explorations of migration, displacement, and journeys. His new paintings greet and encourage those that wander new paths, embodying moments of joy, anxiety, and self-reflection. Identifying as a Muslim with Malay/Indonesian and convict/settler Australian heritage, Abdullah represents a new face of emerging artists from the Asia-Pacific region.