Y. Malik Jalal

Y. Malik Jalal (b. 1994) employs traditional methods of craft and collage to expand dialogues on black history, power, and humanity. He draws aesthetically and conceptually from the lineages of his mediums, welding steel and bronze to address histories formed by morphing industries and inequalities. Jalal references traditional crafts and practices alongside pop culture, weaving African customs among violent American events, and employing symbols from advertising and Black horror in an embodiment of collective anxiety. Further layered by lenses of Islam, Christianity, and Spiritualism, Jalal’s work forms a complex expression of Blackness that draws broadly and critically from all directions.

Y. Malik Jalal was born in 1994 in Savannah, Georgia. He is an artist and curator based in Atlanta, Georgia. Jalal earned a BA from Oglethorpe University in 2016.  Previous solo exhibitions include Of Joy and Terror at the Coleman Art Center (York, AL), Altars to the Liver at Institute 193 (Lexington, KY), and A Study of the Supernatural Phenomena of Emergence at the Alabama Contemporary Art Center (Mobile, AL). His work was included in MARCH’s Pre-Renovation Potluck, as well as shows at the Atlanta Contemporary, Hi-Lo Press, Delaplane, and the Gallery by Wish, among others. Jalal has curated group exhibitions at The Hi-Lo Press and the High Rise Exhibition. His zine, A Brief History of the World Vol. 1, was released exclusively at For Keeps Books in 2020.

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