SYRIAN-born artist Aboud Fares, who has been based in Penang since relocating to Malaysia a decade ago, is currently presenting his latest solo exhibition, On My Mind, at MassHaus in Victoria Street, George Town.
Running from July 31 to Aug 23, the exhibition features a new body of sculptural works that reflects on how the places we inhabit gradually shape the way we perceive and create.
Developed after more than a decade of living and working in Penang, On My Mind did not begin as an exhibition about the city. Instead, it emerged organically through the creative process, as familiar architectural forms gradually found their way into Aboud’s works.
It was only later that Aboud realised the place he had experienced every day had become part of his visual language. Rather than documenting George Town or recreating its architecture, the exhibition transforms familiar urban forms into imagined sculptures shaped by memory, observation and lived experiences.
Everyday surroundings inspire the buildings featured throughout the works but remain deliberately non-specific, reflecting a sense of familiarity rather than documentation. Through these forms, On My Mind explores how places can become embedded in an artist’s creative process, often without conscious intention.
At the centre of the exhibition is On My Mind – Origin, a large-scale sculptural installation presented alongside a series of wall-mounted and freestanding sculptures. Together, the works represent Aboud’s latest exploration of sculpture, installation and spatial experience, while marking the first time that Penang, the place he now calls home, has become a direct source of inspiration in his artistic practice.
“I didn’t set out to make an exhibition about Penang. The work developed naturally, and only afterwards did I realise that the forms I kept returning to had been shaped by the place I had been seeing every day. This exhibition became a way of recognising that, rather than trying to explain it,” he said.
“The buildings in these sculptures are not intended to represent George Town or its heritage architecture. They are imagined forms built from familiarity. What interested me was not documenting a place, but recognising how a place can quietly become part of the way we create.”
Since relocating to Malaysia in 2015, Aboud has presented seven solo exhibitions and participated in numerous exhibitions locally and internationally. His works are held in museum, institutional and private collections.
In 2025, he founded MassHaus, an artist-run sculpture studio and exhibition space in George Town dedicated to contemporary sculpture, installation art and experimental practices.
On My Mind is open from 5pm to 10pm from Friday to Sunday, and by appointment from Monday to Thursday.
For further details, contact MassHaus at [email protected] or visit www.masshaus.art (Instagram: @masshaus.art).
Pix courtesy of MassHaus