Humanimals

In Humanimals, Dar Al Naim presents a deeply personal exploration into the nature of identity, intertwining human and animal consciousness to confront the complexities of the human psyche.

This collection represents a profound study of the inner self, where the artist embraces the essence of our shared instincts with the animal world. Through introspection, embodiment, and an intuitive understanding of fundamentals drives, Dar Al Naim guides us to recognize the animal within, in its raw and unfiltered form.

The exhibition draws on the allegorical weight of ancient fables, folklore, and fairy tales, long used to convey the intricacies of the human condition. Like the age-old story of The Scorpion and the Frog, where the scorpion’s fateful words—“I couldn’t help it; it’s in my nature”—echo throughout the artist’s journey. Unable to resist the pull towards this Humanimals category of thought. Dar Al Naim explores the inevitability of our instincts and how they shape our identities. This interplay between human intention and animal instinct becomes the cornerstone of the work, reflecting the artist’s search for understanding amidst the emotional volatility of the human experience.

Central to Humanimals is the desire to fracture the rigid definitions of “humanness” and question what it means to exist as both human and animal in a natural world where the boundaries are porous and ever shifting. These artworks challenge unitarian concepts of identity, illustrating the convergence of human and animal consciousness through a body of work that blends vibrant colour, large-scale compositions and the

tactile complexity of mixed media on both paper and canvas.

Across this collection, viewers encounter three distinct types of Human/Animal interactions: the search for self-identity, the direct conversation between Human and Animal (the Bird), and the Human/Animal Hybrid (the Wildebeest with a human head). It is this third interaction that gives rise to the exhibition’s title, Humanimals, as it embodies the full transformation of consciousness into a hybrid form.

Through versatile visual metaphors, the works evoke questions of belonging, herd mentality, innocence lost, and the inherent conflicts between authority and fragility. Dar Al Naim uses these forms to delve into themes of migration, resilience, and the unavoidable dance with danger that characterizes both human and animal life. Each piece invites viewers to engage with the cyclical nature of existence and the shared experiences that bind us to our natural world.

Humanimals, is where Dar Al Naim opens a dialogue about identity, emotion, and the primal instincts that lie beneath the surface. The exhibition becomes an invitation for viewers to confront their inner animal and reflect on the complexities of their own nature within a world where human and animal consciousness endlessly overlap and intertwine.