The UAE-based artist was inspired by the country’s resilience
Iris Projects in Abu Dhabi will present Interoception, a new solo exhibition by Emirati artist Juma Al Haj. Opening on June 6 at the gallery’s space in MiZa, the exhibition brings together a powerful new body of work that explores the emotional and psychological impact of living through uncertainty, transforming personal experiences into abstract visual language.
Curated by Shamma Al Mheiri, the showcase takes its title from the concept of interoception, the body’s ability to sense and interpret its internal state. Through layered surfaces, fragmented text and expressive mark-making, Al Haj examines how moments of crisis are internalised and processed before they are articulated externally.
The works were developed in response to a significant moment in recent UAE history. Twenty-four hours after reports emerged of missile attacks targeting the UAE, Al Haj found himself compelled to return to his studio. There, he created the first work in the series, titled UAE Was Targeted, unaware that the piece would become the starting point for a larger body of work documenting the emotional landscape of that period.
What began as an instinctive response to a moment of geopolitical uncertainty gradually evolved into a visual archive of fear, anxiety, resilience and reflection. Throughout the exhibition, painting becomes both a record and a coping mechanism, allowing the artist to process experiences that are often difficult to articulate through words alone.
“Juma Al Haj was one of the first artists I worked with and, in a way, we have grown together,” says Maryam Al Falasi, Founder of Iris Projects. “It has been a privilege to witness the development of his practice over the years. While Interoception is not the exhibition we had originally envisioned, it emerged from a deeply personal response to a period of uncertainty and has developed into a significant new body of work. The exhibition highlights the important role artists play in recording the emotional and human dimensions of historical events.”
Al Haj’s practice has long been rooted in sensorial experience and self-reflection. Whether through journaling, drawing or painting, he approaches creativity as a means of understanding and processing internal states. The works presented in Interoception extend this approach, incorporating new techniques and methods of layering paint that mirror the complexity of memory and emotion.
For curator Shamma Al Mheiri, the exhibition extends beyond its immediate context. “While Interoception remains relevant to a particular geopolitical moment, Al Haj’s work ultimately addresses broader questions surrounding embodiment, collective anxiety, memory and the psychological conditions of living through uncertainty,” she explains. “The works speak not only to a regional experience, but to an increasingly global condition in which crisis is absorbed, processed and internalised before it is articulated through visual language.”
Interoception is running until August 6 at Iris Projects MiZa, Abu Dhabi
