Alina.ell@icloud.com
Alina El-Assadi is an artist based in Sharjah and London. She holds a BA in Fine Arts from the University of Sharjah and is currently completing her Masters in Fine Arts at Kingston University, London. Drawing on her Ukrainian-Palestinian backgrounds, her practice develops from her training in photography and installation. Through these media, she explores the intersection between fictive and non-fictive narratives based on history in the United Arab Emirates. Her current practice also includes sculpture, printmaking, and moving image. Her previous and current practices are united in the persistent presence of the concept of land, her identity, and the mixed use of fiction and non-fiction in her artistic narration.
Her current practice focuses on the use of watermelons, which represents the connection of the joint struggle against occupation, and fight for freedom and sovereignty in the two countries she’s from. Watermelons in context of Palestine, became a widespread symbol of resistance after the eviction of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah in 2021 to avoid censorship on social media. In the Ukrainian context, watermelons started to be used as a symbol of resistance after the liberation of Kherson in 2022, as Kherson is responsible for the largest watermelon production in Ukraine.
Ukrainian-Palestinian artist that works on exploration of her self identity through visual art while finding ways of dealing with generational trauma of her countries. Mainly focusing currently on a symbol of watermelon as a sign of resistance against oppression in Ukraine and Palestine.