Jamila Boughelaf, a London-based artist of Algerian and Italian heritage, employs visual and performance art, alongside improvisational techniques, to explore themes of social justice, identity, often connecting to the inner child.
Her figurative works often evoke a child-like sensibility, drawing from personal memories and relationships, rendered in oil paint, charcoal or watercolours.
For works on social justice and empowerment, Boughelaf employs improvisation, mixed media, and natural materials such as henna, beeswax, and sand.
Performance art holds a special place in her practice, where both the act and its remnants become integral to the artwork, eliciting varied emotions in viewers. Moving beyond traditional painting, Boughelaf is drawn to working with unstretched canvases and fabrics, exploring the flexibility of materials and expanding into new spatial dimensions.
Boughelaf has a Certificate in Fine Art at the Art Academy London and has exhibited at 'The Path' at the Venice Biennale, Palazzo Pisani-Revedin (2024) , at the P21 Gallery London (2021 and 2024), and at the 'Drawing Humans' exhibition at XYZ Gallery, London (2025).
03.09.2024 - 03.11.2024
The Path, during Venice Biennale,
Palazzo Pisani-Revedin, S. Marco, 4013A, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Curated by Amy Jackson and powered by SHIM Art Network
20.06.2024 - 23.06.2024
Art Academy London Graduate Show,
Art Academy London, 165A Mermaid Court, Borough High Street, London
30.09.2022 - 08.10.2022
Elle-Djazair - DZ Festival,
P21 Gallery, 21-27 Chalton St, London NW1 1JD
30.10.2021 - 06.11.2021
Haramacy residency and performance,
The Albany, Douglas Way, London SE8 4AG
20.07.2022 - 20.07.2022
'Curfew' Contemporary Dance Performance,
Bloomsbury Theatre, 15 Gordon St, London WC1H 0AH
17.07.2022 - 17.07.2022
'Curfew' Contemporary Dance Performance,
Unity Theatre, Liverpool Arab Arts Festival
1 Hope Pl, Liverpool L1 9BG
21.09.2024 - 21.09.2024
DZ Festival,
P21 Gallery, 21-27 Chalton St, London NW1 1JD
12.03.2025 - 29.03.2025
Drawing Humans,
XYZ Gallery, 5 Grays Inn Rd, London WC1X 8PH