At a time when global instability increasingly shapes everyday experience, Emirati artist Juma Al Haj turns inward. On display at Iris Projects until 6 August 2026, his solo exhibition Interoception presents a personal yet universally resonant body of work that examines how fear, uncertainty, and collective anxiety are absorbed by the body and translated into visual form. Curated by Shamma Al Mheiri, the exhibition marks a significant new chapter in Al Haj’s practice, positioning painting as both an emotional register and a means of processing lived experience.
The show takes its title from the concept of interoception, the body’s ability to perceive and interpret its internal states. Often described as a form of inward sensing, interoception encompasses the subtle awareness of emotions, physical sensations, and instinctive responses that shape our experiences, even before they are fully articulated in language. For Al Haj, this concept becomes a framework for understanding the emotional aftermath of a crisis and how internal disturbances can manifest materially.
Interoception was developed in response to a period of regional tension that unsettled familiar notions of stability and security and profoundly affected the artist. Rather than documenting that period directly, Al Haj turned to abstraction. He used painting to navigate emotions that resisted straightforward representation. The resulting art pieces function as traces of psychological and emotional states, recording moments of anxiety, vulnerability, and resilience.
Throughout the exhibition, Al Haj employs layered surfaces, fragmented script, and gestural mark-making that oscillate between control and spontaneity. Dense accumulations of lines and abstract forms suggest thought processes unfolding in real time, while the fractured presence of language evokes the difficulty of expressing experiences that are still being processed. The paintings possess an immediacy that recalls both diary entries and emotional maps, charting sensations that are intensely personal while remaining open to broader interpretation.
Language has long occupied a central place in Al Haj’s practice. Raised between the UAE and the USA, the artist developed a heightened awareness of communication, translation, and cultural belonging from an early age. His works often originate in writing and journaling, yet he destabilises the functional role of language. Words and scripts are fragmented, repeated, and abstracted until they exist in a liminal state between legibility and obscurity. These painterly notations become vehicles for emotion and memory, capable of communicating experiences that exceed the limitations of conventional language.
The paintings featured in Interoception appear simultaneously introspective and collective, intimate and expansive. Certain works evoke states of mental turbulence through dynamic compositions and densely layered surfaces; others introduce moments of quiet reflection and release. The tension between disorder and coherence becomes one of the exhibition’s defining characteristics. It mirrors the ways individuals attempt to regain equilibrium after periods of uncertainty.
At the same time, the show demonstrates Al Haj’s growing confidence in abstraction as a language of emotional experience. His compositions resist definitive readings: they invite viewers to engage with them through sensation rather than interpretation alone. The fragmented scripts and expressive gestures encourage empathetic, embodied looking, prompting viewers to consider the often invisible processes through which emotions are felt and negotiated.
The exhibition also reflects a broader shift within contemporary artistic practice toward recognising emotional and psychological states as worthy subjects of investigation. By foregrounding internal experience, Al Haj proposes an understanding of painting as an act of self-examination and emotional translation. The works become repositories of sensation, preserving fleeting experiences that might otherwise remain unspoken.
With Interoception, Al Haj offers one of his most compelling and vulnerable exhibitions to date. By transforming moments of fear and uncertainty into abstract visual experiences, he creates a space in which private emotions intersect with collective realities. The exhibition reminds us that periods of crisis are not only historical events or public narratives but also deeply embodied experiences that leave lasting traces within us.
About the artist
Juma Al Haj (b. 1990, UAE) currently lives and works in Sharjah. In 2012, he obtained a BSc in Visual Communication from the American University of Sharjah, which was followed by an MSc in International Relations from the University of Wollongong (Dubai, 2020).
His practice, which remains rooted in an ongoing exploration of memory, language, and belonging, has been shaped by several significant residencies and mentorship programmes, including a residency at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation (2021) and mentorship under artist Ted Ramsey. In recent years, he has participated in the Artistic Development Programme at 421 Arts Campus (2024) and displayed his creations in various exhibitions and major art events across the UAE, such as Dubai Calligraphy Biennale (2023), SIKKA Art Fair (Dubai, 2022), and Abu Dhabi Art (2021), among others.
Al Haj’s artworks are part of some important public and private collections, for example, the Barjeel Art Foundation (Sharjah), the Dubai Collection, the Bvlgari Art Collection (Dubai), and the private collection of H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, to name a few.
To get more information about Interoception, please visit the official web page of the exhibition.
In addition, you might be interested in exploring The Echoes of Silent Bells by Kevork Mourad.
