Doa Aly

Since the beginning of her art career in 2001, Doa Aly’s work has evolved into a research-based practice that generates multiple outcomes across numerous media. Her projects unfold through the deconstruction, reinterpretation and reappropriation of various sources, drawn from literature, history, anatomy, and movement. At Amant, Doa will continue her research on the history of schizophrenia, its symptoms, and its representation in literature. Her current project MAGNUNA Means Madwoman in Arabic, is dedicated to the narratives of female madness in Arabo-Islamic literature from the Middle Ages. As a long-term multidisciplinary project, MAGNUNA moves towards a new understanding, or synthesis, of madness. It will unfold over various stages and examine the conjoining of female madness and holiness in the medieval Arabo-Islamic literary tradition.

Doa Aly was born in Cairo, Egypt, where she currently lives and works. She has shown her work at Jameel Arts Center in Dubai, Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, Arnolfini Center for Contemporary Arts in Bristol, Hessel Museum in Annandale-on-Hudson, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Beirut Art Center in Beirut, Haus Der Kunst in Munich, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam; Centre d'Art Contemporain in Geneva, and Museo Tamayo in Mexico City, among others. Her work has also been included in the 13th Sharjah Biennial, the Riwaq Biennale in Ramallah, the 11th Istanbul Biennial, EVA International in Limerick, and the 7th Dak’art Biennial in Dakar.