Born in Cairo, Egypt, Amina Yahia’s work examines systems of control within contemporary Egyptian society, tracing how they shape human interaction, belief, behavior, and dream. She’s particularly attentive to class structures and their subtle yet pervasive influence on the ways individuals internalize hierarchy. Merging folkloric residues with systemic and sociopolitical frameworks, Yahia explores socially conditioned behavior and the ritualistic–almost spiritual–dimension that emerges through repetition. Much of her practice is rooted in post- and neocolonial Egypt, where power structures continue to inform both collective consciousness and intimate self-perception. The female identity remains central to her work. She often positions my figures vis-à-vis mechanisms of control and surveillance, staging them within psychological and societal frameworks. Many of these figures–frequently life-sized–carry an undercurrent of satire, subtly destabilizing the very systems they inhabit. Her narratives persistently seek to dissect the uncanny, banal, intimate, violent, and sensual of the body. Through this inquiry, she traces the lingering imprints of cultural embeddedness as they manifest in gesture, movement, and bodily function, revealing the body as both site of inscription and potential resistance.
Amina Yahia is currently pursuing her MFA in Art and Media at New York University. She held her first solo exhibition last November at Hunna Art Gallery in Kuwait, and has shown her work with Hunna Art at 1-54 Marrakech, 2025; Hayaty Diaries, London, 2025; Tahrir Cultural Center AUC, Cairo, 2023; New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, 2022; Firetti Contemporary, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, 2022; 421, Abu Dhabi, 2021; Maisan15, Dubai, 2021, among others.
Born in Cairo, Egypt, Amina Yahia’s work examines systems of control within contemporary Egyptian society, tracing how they shape human interaction, belief, behavior, and dream. She’s particularly attentive to class structures and their subtle yet pervasive influence on the ways individuals internalize hierarchy. Merging folkloric residues with systemic and sociopolitical frameworks, Yahia explores socially conditioned behavior and the ritualistic–almost spiritual–dimension that emerges through repetition. Much of her practice is rooted in post- and neocolonial Egypt, where power structures continue to inform both collective consciousness and intimate self-perception. The female identity remains central to her work. She often positions my figures vis-à-vis mechanisms of control and surveillance, staging them within psychological and societal frameworks. Many of these figures–frequently life-sized–carry an undercurrent of satire, subtly destabilizing the very systems they inhabit. Her narratives persistently seek to dissect the uncanny, banal, intimate, violent, and sensual of the body. Through this inquiry, she traces the lingering imprints of cultural embeddedness as they manifest in gesture, movement, and bodily function, revealing the body as both site of inscription and potential resistance.
Amina Yahia is currently pursuing her MFA in Art and Media at New York University. She held her first solo exhibition last November at Hunna Art Gallery in Kuwait, and has shown her work with Hunna Art at 1-54 Marrakech, 2025; Hayaty Diaries, London, 2025; Tahrir Cultural Center AUC, Cairo, 2023; New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, 2022; Firetti Contemporary, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, 2022; 421, Abu Dhabi, 2021; Maisan15, Dubai, 2021, among others.
