By 2000, Halaby revisists the function of the picture plane, and challenges its boundaries from within. She began to develop a series of hanging sculptures using papier-mâché. These were inspired by the workshops she conducted at Birzeit University in 1995, during which she taught students how to use the medium. The result was a work that occupied different spatial planes and was released from the confines of two-dimensional walls.

In Memory of Sheila Marbain, 2010, Papier-mâché, rice paste and acrylic, 61 x 71 x 45 cm

Growing Shapes and Centers of Energy, 1984 – 92

In 1985, the artist started viewing the traditional rectangular frame as inept for asbtraction. This led to large paintings as installations on walls as well as unconventional artist’s books.

She began with a series of paintings placed directly on the walls of her studio, placing them over scattered rectangles of stapled canvas hung at various angles. A sense of unrestricted movement was created.

Radial Energy I, 1989, Acrylic on canvas, 106 x 165 cm