Omar Khalid
Tijuana, 1995
Omar Khalid has a degree in visual arts from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Tijuana campus. He has been a recipient of the Jóvenes Creadores scholarship from the Programa de Estímulos a la Creación y Desarrollo Artístico (2023). He obtained the honorary award in the First Biennial of the Gulf of California Álvaro Blancarte 2024 (Culiacán, 2024). He was part of the selection of the XLIV National Encounter of Young Art (Aguascalientes, 2024). He has been part of multiple selections in biennials and group exhibitions. His most recent solo exhibition is entitled Prototipos para el fracaso, Arquitectura Metafórica de la Frontera at Galería Ángulo (Tijuana, 2024). He was also part of the group exhibition titled Tierras Únicas, Identidades de Baja California at the Centro Estatal de las Artes (Rosarito, 2024). His work is developed mainly in the disciplines of painting, drawing, sculpture and installation. He lives and works from the city of Tijuana, Mexico.
statement
My work explores the complex dynamics of migration and border life through metaphors and fictional narratives. My research, Martian Aesthetics, uses the figure of the Martian and spaceships as symbols to address migrant invasions into unknown and uninhabited territories, the transformation of the urban landscape, and the experiences of migrants in Tijuana. These metaphors allow me to imagine and reinterpret the stories of irregular settlements, where hope, failure and science fiction coexist.
In my artistic practice I seek to understand my relationship with my surroundings, my family background and the colonia in which I live. I live in a migrant neighborhood and come from a migrant family, like most people in Tijuana. Through my work I reflect on how these shared experiences shape both our identity and the urban landscapes we inhabit.
My sculptures and assemblages are built with materials recovered from irregular dwellings, such as wood, sheet metal and cardboard, encapsulating the memory and narratives of those who inhabit these spaces. Through these pieces, I reflect on precariousness, resistance and the search for new worlds, both in the physical and imaginary frontier.
My artistic practice seeks to generate a dialogue about the challenges of inhabiting territories in constant transformation, proposing new ways of understanding our relationship with the environment, with the past and with others.
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