Maimunah Abdullah has always been a maker. Through a lifelong practical enquiry into the world around her she has painted, sculpted, drawn, crafted, sewn and cooked her experiences and observations into an indelible record of creative output. As a mother, teacher, student and practitioner, the drive to create provides a daily rhythm that permeates through the lives of her family.

Kaseh Ibu is a conversation between four children and their mother. Foregrounding Maimunah Abdullah’s interest in the natural world, a series of her recent botanical paintings provide the impetus for her children to explore ideas of domesticity, resilience and familial exchange. As the family expands into new phases of life, with families of their own, the exhibition reflects on the developing roles of parent and child intrinsic to a broader cycle of growth. Bringing together creative works from members of the same family weaves together some of the fundamental values that define them as individuals. Positing artistic output as a reflection of maternal resilience, Kaseh Ibu offers an intimate view into the creative lives of the Abdullah family.

Maimunah Abdullah (b. 1949) was born in Malaysia and emigrated to Australia in 1972. After obtaining a Diploma in Horticulture and Advanced Diploma in Fashion Design she has worked in a variety of roles including pattern maker and seamstress, and 25 years of tutoring children and adults classes in ceramics, painting and craft at Canning Arts Group. Maimunah has been an art and sewing tutor at Al-Hidayah Islamic School and Langford Islamic College, as well as working with at risk youth, refugees and families at Jacaranda Community Centre. As well as raising four children of her own, Maimunah has played an integral and often informal maternal and mentoring role within Muslim, migrant and indigenous communities.

Rabiah Letizia (b. 1973) holds a BSc Psychology (Curtin) and GradDipSc Psychology (UWA). Her interests lie in the inter-generational, community and cross-cultural aspects of Psychology. Since studying an MA in Community Psychology (ECU) she has managed a successful small business while balancing professional pursuits with motherhood.

Abdul-Karim Abdullah (b. 1974) currently holds the position of Prisoner Education Manager Metropolitan – Corrective Services, Department of Justice. He is a motivated educational leader with a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours); Graduate Diploma of Psychology; Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary), Bachelor of Arts (Art); a Diploma of Arts (Art and Design); and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. Over the past 15 years Abdul-Karim has performed a variety of professional roles including, Prisoner Education Manager Regional – Dept of Corrective Services; Arts Coordinator – Dept of Corrective Services; Prisoner Education Coordinator – Hakea Prison; Art Instructor – Creative Expressions Unit Graylands, Reflections Art Studio; Art Lecturer, Aboriginal Programs, Challenger TAFE; Art Teacher – Kelmscott SHS; and Art, Literacy and Mathematics Teacher – Balga SHS.

Abdul-Rahman Abdullah (b. 1977) is a West Australian artist whose practice explores the different ways that memory can inhabit and emerge from familial spaces. Working primarily in sculpture and installation, his work has been described as magic realism, creating poetic interventions with the space it occupies. While his own experiences as a Muslim Australian of mixed ethnicity provide a starting point, Abdul-Rahman foregrounds shared understandings of individual identity and new mythologies in a cross-cultural context. A 2012 graduate of Curtin University, Abdul-Rahman exhibited most recently in The National: New Australian Art 2019 at the MCA, Sydney. In 2017 he participated in Dark Horizons at Pataka Museum + Art (NZ) and in 2016 was included in Magic Object: The Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art at AGSA, Adelaide. In 2015 Abdul-Rahman and his brother Abdul Abdullah presented the first WA Focus exhibition at AGWA, Perth and in 2018 the Abdullah brothers were shortlisted for the 58th Venice Biennial.

Abdul Abdullah (b. 1986) is a multi-disciplinary artist from Perth, currently based in Sydney. As a self described ‘outsider amongst outsiders’, his practice is primarily concerned with the experience of the ‘other’ in society. Abdullah’s projects have engaged with different marginalised minority groups, with a focus on the experience of young Muslims in a multicultural Australian context. Through these processes and explorations Abdullah extrapolates this outlook to an examination of universal aspects of human nature. In 2015 Abdul exhibited at Primavera at the MCA, Sydney, and at the Asia Pacific Triennial at GOMA, Brisbane. In 2016 he exhibited at ACCA and in 2017 he showed at PATAKA Art Museum in New Zealand and with Yavuz Gallery at Art Basel Hong Kong and the Asia Now Art Fair in Paris. Most recently Abdul exhibited at MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum in Chiangmai, The NGA as part of Infinite Conversations, and was shortlisted along with his brother Abdul-Rahman Abdullah to represent Australia in the 2019 Venice Biennale.