Hala Dabaji: Shadow Puppet

Hala Dabaji’s distinctive paintings feature an androgynous character called Obu (“he has a challenging spirit”) created in acrylic on canvas and more recently watercolour on fabric; the flatness and stylised hand gestures suggest a form of communicating that echoes shadow play. Dabaji, who lives and works in Beirut, also works in photography, sculpture and drawing; she also has a fashion line, Les Têtes d’Obu.