Material Tension
In the work of Majd Abdel Hamid, embroidery is an act of thinking. A relentless process that initially chased perfection but, over time, tempered into something more fluid, more accepting of unravelling. A practice that is still compulsive but that now resists the limitations of finality.
Over the last decade, Majd has sustained an ongoing habit of white-on-white embroidery. These works, a small selection of which surface in On White, trace a journey spanning more than a hundred pieces, each the result of long hours of meticulous labour.
The repetition of white thread stacking over a white surface is like the slow growth of a ghost garden, silent but persistent. In this, there is a kind of psychosis, an unfolding where time stretches and collapses in the rhythm of the needle moving in and out of fabric. The work demands looking, looking again, looking closely, looking with the body. Shadows form where threads rise, textures emerge only when the light shifts.
These small works evade imposed meaning. Guided by instinct rather than premeditated structure, each stitch reads like a gestural stroke in a painting. Spontaneous composition and the physical negotiation of material move through a register resonant with archetypal abstraction.
Though not conceived as a single body of work, these fragments exist apart from Majd’s more visual imagery, which has included forms, figures, personal and political motifs. While intrinsically tied to him, these elements are absent from the non-representational white-on-white works, making this body a distinct and separate archive of his imagination. Shown together for the first time, they catalogue the minimal imprint of hands releasing energy into being.
Text by Saira Ansari
Image: Majd Abdel Hamid. Work in progress, artist’s studio, Beirut 2025. Image courtesy of the artist and Grey Noise, Dubai
