Home is something we rarely question until we find ourselves searching for it. It is not simply a geographical place. It can be somewhere we feel drawn to, a scent that lingers in our memory or a feeling that stays with us wherever we go. This is what Emirati artist Maitha Abdalla explores in Hug My Land, a bronze sculpture unveiled at MENART in Paris, where she received the inaugural Coup de Cœur Boucheron award.
Image: Courtesy of Boucheron
Founded in 2021 by Laure d’Hauteville, MENART has quickly become a meeting point for contemporary artists from the Middle East and North Africa, including those from the region’s diaspora. Taking place in Paris from 23 to 26 October this year, the fair explores the theme Where Is Home?, bringing together works that examine identity, belonging and the emotional toll of displacement. Against a backdrop of profound global change, it raises questions about how our understanding of home continues to evolve. These are the same questions Abdalla explores in her latest work, albeit in a more understated way.
Images: Courtesy of Boucheron
Standing approximately one metre tall, Hug My Land depicts a woman curled in on herself, her arms wrapped around her body. There is something deeply moving about this gesture, which invites several interpretations. Is she protecting herself, seeking comfort or holding on to something she fears losing? The sculpture leaves room for all three possibilities, making vulnerability and resilience feel like two sides of the same coin.
Abdalla often explores human experiences through deeply personal narratives, drawing on memory, folklore, mythology and the psychology of human relationships. Working across sculpture, painting, film and performance, she creates worlds in which the familiar can become unsettling, while intimate experiences take on a wider meaning. Her work has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale and Sharjah Biennial 15, among other international events.
Images: Courtesy of Boucheron
The Coup de Cœur Boucheron award reflects the French jewellery Maison’s ongoing commitment to female creativity and artistic freedom. Launched in 2026 in partnership with MENART, it recognises women artists from the region whose work challenges conventions and opens up new creative perspectives.
What makes Hug My Land particularly compelling is the personal perspective it brings to this year’s central question, Where Is Home? Rather than offering a definitive answer, Abdalla invites us to consider whether belonging is something we find in the world around us or something we learn to build within ourselves.
