Alya Hatta (b.1999, Malaysia) is an interdisciplinary artist based between London and Kuala Lumpur. She graduated from her BA Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London, before finding herself in the MA Painting Course at Royal College of Art. She has exhibited internationally in London, Milan, Paris, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Tübingen and Sydney amongst others. Hatta is a member of London-based Southeast Asian artist group ‘Unamed Collective’.
Alya Hatta
Drawing on personal experiences and memories, the work I make explores my Southeast Asian identity, and portrays the colourful intimacies of the diasporic human condition. I take inspiration from the communities of both my South-London and Kuala Lumpur residences, as well as Southeast Asian mythology, to create alternate realities in an attempt to find new spaces in which I can call home.
Community and ecology are key influences in my work. The backdrop of these new worlds created a wilderness that bridges ecologies from Southeast Asia and Europe, with the aim of rooting myself deeper and more securely in each location. Gathering at arms length within and around myself, the works exist beyond the self by allowing members of my community to curate the direction of each work.The materials within my work are sourced locally in Southeast London - tires and chains from the junk at Bob’s bike, a random box of fabric trimmings from Aunty on East Street Market - these things, curated by the community, feed into my work and physically embody the close relationships I have made with wonderful individuals. Fabrics that carry my personal histories are sewn into my works in the form of my used clothes and through new travels and the mundane they weave their stories into to new worlds created in my paintings.
Stuff on Stuff on Stuff on Stuff
The things I make revolve around the attitude of painting: putting stuff on stuff. Constructing objects with paints, pixels, pastes, old socks and washcloths. The works are created with this action, memory and community collaboration in mind in favour of traditional image-making processes. Imperative to the works are the feelings of freedom and play as this carries us through the mundanity of daily life, choosing to see through rose-tinted glasses.
She Fell From The Sky –
2023, 160 x 160cm. Oil, Acrylic on Canvas and Mixed Textile
Laundry Day (Today) –
2022, 170 x 140cm. Oil, Acrylic, Textiles on Canvas and Mixed Textile
Bo Got Lost At Burgess Park: Part 1, 2, 3 –
2023, 120 x 90cm each. Oil, Acrylic, Textiles on Canvas and Mixed Textile
Snack Time –
2022, 40 x 30cm. Mixed media on Canvas.
Her Foot Was Over The Line! –
2022, 90 x 60cm. Oil and Acrylic on Canvas and Mixed Fabric
Hundred Kilos Uphill: Hour 1 and 2 –
Diptych, 2023, 160 x 240cm.
Earth Jam Crostata: Slices 1, 2 and 3 –
2023, Variable Sizes. Paints and other things on bicycle tubes. A slice of earth? A slice of pie? Or both?
Yesterday All At Once –
2023. Variable Duration. Snippets of moments captured in an environmental simulation. Objects made and animated using Blender, generated in Unity 3D
My Inflatable Friends –
Slowly building an army for...
