Undying: Abdul-Rahman Abdullah

13 August - 7 November 2026

... the Magic Art, which, as conceived by the Malays, may be said to consist of the methods by which this Soul, whether in gods, men, animals, vegetables, minerals, or what not, may be influenced, captured, subdued, or in some way made subject to the will of the magician.

Walter William Skeat in Malay Magic: An Introduction to the Folklore and Popular Religion of the Malay Peninsula, published 1900

Abdul-Rahman Abdullah (born 1977, Dharawal/Port Kembla NSW) lives on a cattle farm on Bindjareb Nyoongar Country, Western Australia. Shaped by formative experiences as a “Muslim kid with mixed heritage”, on his father’s side he is a seventh-generation Australian descended from convict arrival in 1815, and on his mother’s side, from Bugis and Minangkabau royalty in Malaysia. Abdullah’s earliest influences growing up in inner-city Perth included comic books, fantasy novels, skateboarding, hip hop, a haunted family home, Sufism, boxing, and grunge, and “living a very grass-roots existence as a lo-fi creative kid in the 1980s and 1990s”.

After working as an illustrator, model maker and zoo designer, Abdullah developed a sculptural practice grounded in storytelling. Here in Undying, his intricately carved and painted works tell a story of our complex relationship with life, death and the afterlife, and of our connection with (and responsibility to) the natural world. Each sculpture is accompanied by a text by Abdullah, in which he reflects on the animal he has depicted.

Commissioned by the Chau Chak Wing Museum, The University of Sydney, and supported by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, Undying: Abdul-Rahman Abdullah takes inspiration from the Museum’s collections of natural history and antiquity to present a story of curiosity, inter-relationship, and perpetuity.

Curator: Katrina Liberiou

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Chau Chak Wing Museum acknowledgement:

• Exhibition management: Luke Parker and Mikhaela Rodwell
• Conservation: Kerry Head and Madeleine Snedden
• Registration: Emma Conroy
• Graphic Design: Catseye Bay
• Collections advice and curatorial support: Dr Anthony Gill, Dr Melanie Pitkin, Dr Jude Philp, Candace Richards, and Dr Ann Stephen

With thanks to:

• Artbank Australia
• Penrith Regional Gallery
• Moore Contemporary, Perth

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.

^{Image: Undying: Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, installation view, Chau Chak Wing Museum, Sydney, 2026. Photo: David James}