Jude Abu Zaineh. Juried Artist
Constellations
WebXR on the Styly platform
Artist Statement
FORMations reflects the natural ecology of food and flora in the regions between the traditional lands
of the Kanien’keháka and Muh-he-con-neok people (Upstate New York) and the territory of the
Anishnaabeg people of the Three Fires Confederacy (Southwestern Ontario)—two areas the artist
frequents. Sampling the earth, indigenous and collected plant species, and leftover foods,
FORMations examines the constant evolution within the timescale temporalities of an ever-shifting
cultural and geographical landscape. The petri-dish environment makes visible the invisible by
providing a medium of growth for the microbial and bacterial communities that naturally exist within
food and our overall surroundings. This enclosed environment gives metaphorical and visual
connections to the often ignored or erased narratives and the layered complexities of hybrid
existences that many newcomers (human and nonhuman species) experience in their respective,
evolving habitats.
The work gives a visual nod to the artist’s cultural heritage in referencing geometric forms found in
South West Asia and North African architecture and Islamic art, while acknowledging the larger
landscapes, foods, resources, and diverse ecosystems that make-up Southwest Ontario & region.
About the artists
Jude Abu Zaineh is a Palestinian-Canadian interdisciplinary artist-curator working across art, food, science, and technology studies. Her work develops alternate archive practices and investigates themes of culture, displacement, storytelling, diaspora, and belonging, through de-colonial and feminist perspectives. She examines ideals of home and community influenced by her childhood and upbringing in Southwest Asia.
Abu Zaineh is the recipient of several awards including, the 2020 William and Meredith Saunderson Prizes for Emerging Artists, and was one of the first selected artists to participate in a collaborative residency with the Ontario Science Centre and MOCA Toronto (Canada). She has presented her works at Ireland Glass Biennale; Malta Society of Arts, Valletta, Malta; Cultivamos Cultura, São Luis, Portugal; Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia, Lisbon, Portugal; Centro de Cultura Digital, Mexico City, Mexico; SVA, NYC, USA; Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco, USA; Forest City Gallery, London, Canada; Art Gallery of Windsor, Canada; Centre Culturel Canadien, Paris, France; Museum London, Canada; Museum of Glass, Washington, USA, and more.
Her work has been featured in VICE Arabia, PBS, NPR, across CBC Canada platforms, Canadian Art magazine, NEUES GLAS-NEW GLASS: art & architecture magazines, and on the cover of fuse: the Museum of Glass Magazine.
Abu Zaineh’s works can be found in the permanent collections of The Museum of Glass (USA), Art Windsor-Essex (Canada), The City of Windsor’s Public Art Commission (Canada), as well as private collections internationally.
She received an MFA from the University of Windsor (Canada) and is currently a doctoral fellow and Interdisciplinary Arts PhD Candidate at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY, USA).
She maintains an active studio practice between upstate NY, USA and Ontario, Canada.
Credits: Jude Abu Zaineh