In "What Lies Beneath," Hayfa Algwaiz juxtaposes a richly colored draped fabric against a monochromatic and partially obscured interior of an ornate room. The composition highlights detailed rendering, with the fabric's folds drawing focus amidst the muted architectural elements. Algwaiz employs a style blending realism with absences that suggest memory and omission. This painting reflects Algwaiz's exploration of unseen realities and personal spaces, engaging with themes of memory and identity shaped by cultural and architectural contexts. ...
Through drawing, painting, and spatial studies, Hayfa Algwaiz weaves together reflections on memory, loss, and place, exploring how these forces shape the contours of human experience. Trained as an architect, she approaches her subjects with an acute awareness of how environments are sensed, recalled, and reimagined, often turning her attention to what remains unseen or partially obscured. Her practice investigates the fragments, omissions, and subtle traces that form the emotional texture of space. Rather than building physical structures, Algwaiz focuses on representing them—working within the discipline of flat, two-dimensional images that explore the interplay between inside and outside worlds. Interiors in her work often emerge from personal and cultural reflections on tradition, religion, and family, while exteriors convey themes of transformation, urban development, and the shaping of communal identity. Through methods such as detailed rendering, axonometric drawing, and realist depiction, she engages with ideas of time, spatial perception, and the relationships between people and their surroundings. Her experiences living abroad sharpened her awareness of context and its absence, revealing how removal or erasure can heighten emotional connection. Ultimately, Algwaiz’s work dwells on the quiet, everyday gestures and routines that subtly construct both personal memory and collective heritage. ...
