This December, Gilman Contemporary introduces the work of Yemeni-Bosnian-US American photographer and multimedia artist Alia Ali. Ali explores identity, displacement, migration and cultural memory through photographs that blur the line between portraiture and abstraction. Figures are enveloped in vibrant, patterned cloth, and presented within handmade, fabric-covered frames. For Ali, fabric is a powerful symbol. From the swaddles of infancy to the shrouds of death, textiles accompany us through every stage of life. Her work embraces this weight, revealing how cloth can both protect and obscure, and shape how we see the world and each other.