Sara Ahli United Arab Emirates, b. 1993

Sara Ahli’s plaster-filled balloons recollect feelings of pain and suffering due to the various forms of
continued pressure applied to them. Sara tests the balloon’s endurance and fragile rubbery structure
by exerting forms of tension using pliers, stones, and building blocks. She reveals the limits of this
structure in standing force and the changes it experiences until it reaches its final shape becoming
attuned to its surroundings. The artist likens her process to how human experiences mark people as
they become part of their physical, intellectual, and psychological formation, arguing that success in
moving forward can be attained by achieving stability amid circumstances we were unable to resist.