Sharifah Sorayya

Sharifah Sorayya is a Malaysian-born interdisciplinary artist based on Kaurna land by way of England, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. She is heavily influenced by her familial and personal lived history, particularly through pre and post-independence Malaysia – including the 1969 May 13 Racial Riots.

From her base at Central Studios in Kent Town, Adelaide, Sharifah Sorayya blends her love of printmaking and pattern-design with the traditional crafts of her own Malay culture, alongside her atelier training from the Adelaide Central School of Art. She dances between abstract paintings, textiles, and printmaking – entering a dialogue with the materials and techniques to highlight the complexities of her life: its joys, sadness, unexpected turns and survival. It is an invitation to mutual understanding.

Her work has been exhibited throughout South Australia, published in Unmasked – Reflections on Virus Time curated by Sharmini Flint (Singapore), and is held in private collections across Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Middle East, and the UK.

Photograph by Sia Duff