My name is Maalik Abdul-Rahim. I am an artist born to parents who immigrated to New York City from Jamaica. I spent most of my life in New York and I am now based in Naarm (Melbourne, Australia). I usually use a camera for artistic expression but I have also experimented with multimedia and may do so again in the future. My work has been highlighted on platforms such as Humble Arts Foundation, Pearl Press Magazine, Analogforever Magazine, and Suboart Magazine.
My art is deeply personal and allows me to explore who I am, finding inspiration through my identity and my lived experiences. Alongside my own identity, I also have a keen interest in history and I find that this bleeds into how I process my work and come up with ideas for creative projects. This happens often when I document/photograph the landscape of a particular place and it leads me to wonder about aspects of the land that are not visibly seen but can be felt and tapped into conceptually.
I am inspired by dramatic light and shadows. These subjects became important to me earlier on in my photographic journey when I was consumed with the work of Fan Ho captured in his book “China Yesterday”. I still use light and shadow in my photography to enable my art to reach a wider audience.
Recently I have drawn inspiration from nature, living near the Maribyrnong River in Naarm has opened my photographic eye to another world, in my new work, trees and bodies of water feature heavily, taking the audience into the world as I see it where there is nothing more captivating than the weaving branches of a tree.
The purpose of the work is to allow me to engage with my vulnerability, as this is something I have struggled with in the past and I hope that through my artistic practice, vulnerability becomes easier to sit with for myself as well as my audience.
For work that is based on place and landscape in relation to history, I hope to always tell the truth no matter what kind of scrutiny or praise I receive as a result.
Malcolm X said “I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I'm a human being, first and foremost, and as such I'm for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” This concept is at the very core of my work and it is what I strive towards.