A new neon sculpture by Hiba Abdallah is creating a brighter world at the McMaster Museum of Art. Literally.
Commissioned and conceived in 2019, Hiba Abdallah’s white neon sculpture features glowing, cursive text mounted above the museum entrance that reads, “we remain profoundly and infinitely connected”
Similar to her other works, this sculpture uses text as a jumping off point for questions, reflection, and discussion about surrounding communities and civic action.
The McMaster Museum of Art will unveil Hiba Abdallah’s sculpture and a special Artist in Conversation video on September 25 for the launch of Ontario Culture Days.
“The McMaster Museum of Art is a beacon of engagement and learning, both on campus and with the public at large,” explains Abdallah in her description of the work. “When thinking about the role this institution holds in the community, I wanted to create a statement that emphasizes human connectivity as a reciprocal feedback loop. The text is simple yet evocative of the complex nature of connection, as evidenced in the very subjects studied on campus, from quantum physics to political science to visual art to biochemistry.
“My hope is for this piece to function as a welcoming prompt when entering the museum during the day, and a poetic declaration of unity at night.”
This is one of two commissions by Abdallah supported by the McMaster Museum of Art. The first, her giant wall mural “In Retrospect,” was presented as part of Hamilton Supercrawl in 2019 and has remained on view on James Street South for the last year.
The eerily prescient text reads, “Everything is much more connected than we think.”
Hiba Abdallah, an artist and organizer who frequently works with others, received her BFA from the University of Windsor in 2012 and MFA from the University of Guelph in 2017.
Recent exhibitions and public projects include “Everything I Wanted to Tell You” for Nuit Blanche Scarborough, “Neighbourhood Trust” with Lakeshore Arts and Myseum Toronto, “It can only be this place” at the Doris McCarthy Gallery, “Rehearsing Disagreement” for the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto, and “A List of Antagonisms” at Centre[3] in Hamilton.
Learn more about Hiba Abdallah at her website.