RHAPSODY IN JEDDAH Saudi’s cultural capital brims with Contemporary art and activities in the first week of February through 21,39 and the second edition of Jeddah Art Week. Myrna Ayad reviews the events. This page: Installation view of Moallaqat with (left) Maha Malluh’s Moallaqat, (foreground) Musaed Al-Hulis’s Holy-wood and (background) Nasser Al-Salem’s Skoon. Facing page, clockwise from top left: Mohammed Siam. Untitled. 2006. Oil and acrylic on canvas. (Triptych) 121 x 75 cm each. Image courtesy H undreds of years ago, an annual poetry fair was held in Ukaz, near Mecca, where Arabian tribes presented the work of their greatest poets. These were their ambassadors, men whose poetry defined the nobility and eminence of their respective tribes. Legend has it that seven of these poems were so exceptional, they were printed on Egyptian linen in gold thread and hung on the Ka’aba and hence came to be known as The Hanging Odes or moallaqat. Others propose Zaki M A Farsi; Mahdi Al-Jeraibi. that the poems’ verses were so beautiful, they became ‘suspended’ in one’s mind. It is imperative They Were All There. 2000. Used wooden school desks. 40 x 60 cm to mention this in a review of 21,39 – the initiative put forth by HRH Princess Jawaher Bint Majed each. Collection of the Al-Mansouria Foundation, Jeddah. Photography Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and the Saudi Art Council (SAC) – not least because one of 21,39’s shows is by Myrna Ayad; Exhibition view of Past Is Prologue with (foreground) based on, and named, Moallaqat, but to demonstrate that patronage in the Kingdom is a practice a sculpture by Ali Al-Tukhais and which is hundreds of years old and dates back to since its Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic) period. Hammad (on the wall, left to right) works by Bakr Sheikhoon, Dia Aziz Dia, Ali Al- Ar-Rawiyah, the eighth century patron and collector of Jahiliyyah poetry would have been proud to Ruzaiza and Mohammed Al-Resayes. Photography by Myrna Ayad. learn that centuries later, 38 Saudi families sponsored 21,39. 96 IDEA TO EXECUTION sium that brought in panellists and speakers such which houses some 20 restored works by the The idea to celebrate Saudi art and culture as Anne Pasternak of Creative Time, the Sharjah likes of Henry Moore, Victor Vasarely and César through an annual event was conceived last sum- Art Foundation’s HE Sheikha Hoor Al-Qassimi and Baldaccini, among others, which were brought mer. Princess Jawaher, President of the Al-Man- Chris Dercon of the Tate; the latter dedicated time three decades ago by-then Jeddah Mayor Dr souria Foundation, which, since its inception in to mentorship sessions with some of Athr Gallery’s Mohamed Said Farsi. 1998, promotes Saudi and Arab art internationally, artists. In his opening lecture at the symposium, gathered key figures in the Saudi art arena. She ap- Dercon cited Jeddah, Beirut and Sharjah as “the re- pointed 14 nationals who comprise SAC, a regis- gion’s three main art centres”. Indeed so, but what SHOW TIME tered non-profit entity, to launch an event named about Dubai and Cairo? Moallaqat and Past Is Prologue are staged in a after Jeddah’s geographical coordinates. These To mark the opening events, which included 1400-square-metre area within the mostly vacant individuals range in age, expertise and profession the launch of Canvas’s Contemporary Kingdom: Gold Moor Mall, whose high ceilings and brick but are all patrons who are fiercely patriotic. In the The Saudi Art Scene Now, a publication which walls lend the space a rustic feel. Both shows are lead-up to 21,39’s opening, they wore many hats surveys the visual arts practices in Saudi Arabia, envisioned by Hamza Serafi, SAC member and – some were even seen supervising the installa- guests were treated to a series of activities over co-founder of Athr Gallery. Where Moallaqat is tion of artworks pre-vernissage. Sub-committees five days. These included a trip to Jeddah’s histori- theme-based, Past Is Prologue displays largely were established – Sara Alireza and Nawwaf Al- cal town, Al-Balad (slated to become a UNESCO unseen works by the Kingdom’s Modern artists, Nassar oversaw the initiative’s education division, World Heritage Site) where a sculpture by Saudi gathered from Saudi foundations and collectors that entails exhibition tours to Moallaqat and Past artist Saddek Wasil was placed; a visit to the Darat – which, again, reveals the age-old tradition of Is Prologue for about 1800 school students in ad- Safeya Binzagr gallery of the eponymous pioneer- patronage in the country – and the artists them- dition to workshops by Moallaqat’s participating ing female Saudi artist; tours to galleries – most selves. Raneem Farsi went back to her thesis from artists. Aya Alireza and Raneem Farsi curated the notably Athr, which presented solo shows by the Sotheby’s Institute of Art on the development shows. Sara Bin Laden organised the gala dinner Ziad Antar, Hazem Harb and Ibrahim Abumsmar of the Saudi art market for the show. “My only ref- and managed VIP guests with Abdullah Al-Turki. in its newly expanded and renovated space; a erence points for my Master’s were two Arabic Sharifa Al-Sudairi planned the one-day sympo- walk in the new but still-nameless sculpture park, literature books,” she says. “I had to provide 97 REVIEW a historical background and so interviewed many of students embody a collective memory; and Modern Saudi artists and discovered things that Nasser Al-Salem’s hypnotising video reveals a fas- were largely unknown. For example, Mohammed cination with the number seven – the amount Al-Resayes’s thesis in 1987 focused on the impor- of celebrated moallaqat and also a significant tance of having a museum in the Kingdom. We figure in the Qur’an. One too many pieces make share the same ideas.” up Musaed Al-Hulis’s installation of fabric-up- No doubt, Modern Arab art is a vital genre holstered foam, entitled Holy-wood, which, says that allows us a peek into the circumstances that Farsi, “address the complexity of the Islamic world surround life and artistic practices in the Arab and the capacity of the rest of the world to un- world in the 20th century. Audiences have been derstand it.” Equally numerous are Maha Malluh’s This page: exposed to art from this domain in recent years, cooking pots hanging on a wall; burnt at their Tunisian artist eL Seed’s but have rarely seen work by Saudi Modernists, bases, they address the communal activity and specially commissioned mural as part of Jeddah Art which makes Past Is Prologue essential to one’s tradition of feasting together. Week 2. Image courtesy Ibraaz. understanding of art appreciation in a country Facing page, clockwise from that is less than 100 years old. Varied in theme top left: Works from Kakaibang and style, 24 works by pioneering Saudi artists – IN PARALLEL Jeddah; exhibition view of including those by two women, Safeya Binzagr Works by Malluh showed through two other av- Galerie El-Marsa’s show, featuring works by Nja and Mounirah Mously – comprise the show. The enues in Jeddah – at Ayyam Gallery and at the Mahdaoui and Khalid Ben Slimane; Maha Malluh. exhibitions’ display, however, begs the question: sophomore edition of Jeddah Art Week (JAW), (Detail) Food For Thought since the past is indeed a prologue, why does organised by Lina Lazaar of Sotheby’s, which IV. 2013. 22 chinco dish towers. Variable dimensions. Past Is Prologue not precede Moallaqat? “We also staged a preview show of its upcoming Unique piece. All images courtesy Ibraaz. wanted it to come as a surprise, an unexpected Doha sale. Ayyam’s exhibition – ‘coincidentally’ journey,” says Aya Alireza. The shows bring the titled Contemporary Kingdom – succeeded in past to the present – links them even – and grouping works by three generations of Saudi also take the present back to the past. There artists, however, the majority of pieces are al- was no perceptible dialogue between the two ready familiar to audiences. Visitors wondered exhibitions, though Farsi maintains that some why 21,39 and JAW did not merge to form one discourses are noticeable through themes that big cultural event. “They are two organisations dominate works of Modern and Contemporary with two different visions,” says Mohammed Saudi artists such as the human condition and Hafiz, Vice Chairman of SAC and co-founder of ornamentation etc. Athr Gallery. “In the UAE, there’s Art Dubai and Works by 20 Saudi artists show through Moal- the Sharjah Biennial; one is commercial and laqat. The pieces themselves – a handful of which one isn’t.” JAW too, included a symposium and were specially commissioned – are not based on visits to various galleries as well as the sculp- the ancient poems per se, but rather on the con- ture park, and was again staged at Al-Furusiya cept and phenomenon of poetry “as an assembly Mall, home of the 2012 exhibition We Need To point to where people flocked,” says Alireza. The Talk by Edge of Arabia, one of JAW’s support- curators sought the same objective: to gather ers. The event was sponsored by the Abdul audiences to artworks. As far as being suspended Latif Jameel Community Initiatives (ALJCI), an is concerned vis-à-vis the definition of moallaqat, organisation founded by Lazaar’s in-laws and some works exemplified this notion more than for which she acts as an advisor. ALJCI has re- others did. Ayman Yossri Daydban’s 1998 mixed cently announced the establishment of the media work shows two figures bound to each Beyt Jameel museum in Jeddah for a reported other with wires; Manal Al-Dowayan’s Tree Of $27 million, scheduled for completion in 2016. Guardians is comprised of hundreds of hanging Aesthetically, JAW was too busy and artisti- brass leaves engraved with the names of female cally, it was a hodgepodge. One could not dis- Saudis; Mahdi Al-Jeraibi’s installation of 24 school tinguish the beginning and end of the various desks scribbled with the dreams and aspirations shows within. It was a red sticker on the caption 98 REVIEW of a work by Malluh that confirmed that the So- ety of nurses, drivers, cooks and other workers” Plans for the next editions of both initiatives theby’s exhibition had ended. This was where and then ran a competition that drew in 220 are being compiled, with the aim of strength- Selma Feriani Gallery had shown pieces by the Filipinos and subsequently staged the exhibi- ening Jeddah’s positioning as not only Saudi’s Saudi artist. “I didn’t want clear-cut distinctions tion of 30 unique and specially commissioned capital of culture, but also of cementing the between spaces,” says Lazaar. “The point is, works by 15 participants. “In 2013, Saudi Arabia city’s placement on the region’s cultural map. we’re celebrating art, no matter who has done expelled people due to migrant worker issues There are talks of Moallaqat and Past Is Prologue it and how expensive it is.” Another participat- and residencies. Overnight, people who have travelling to Riyadh and elsewhere, and more ing gallery was Galerie El-Marsa, which showed been here for decades were asked to leave,” chatter surrounding a second Pavilion for Sau- works by Nja Mahdaoui and Khaled Bin Slimane adds Lazaar, who contacted the Minister of La- di Arabia at the 2015 Venice Biennale. British in what was a visibly dedicated space for the bour to inform him of Kakaibang Jeddah. In an sculptor Antony Gormley flew to Jeddah in late Tunis-based gallery. Other distinct areas were interesting twist of fate, he decided to inaugu- February for a talk with Saudi artist Ahmed Ma- occupied by solo shows for Wasma Mansour rate the event. ter as part of 21,39’s education programming. and Khalid Zahid as well as Arabian Wings Gal- In the name of further engaging local au- There are also plans to allocate a headquarters lery. At times, the layout felt like an art fair. diences, JAW also brought in celebrated cal- for 21,39, which will serve as an office and exhi- Adjacent to Galerie El-Marsa was a room ligrafitti artist eL Seed to paint a mural in Al-Bal- bition space. Next year also sees the Qatar Mu- filled with incredible photographs of the Red ad with five children volunteers. The verse that seums Authority partner with Saudi Arabia for Sea port city, shot by Filipino photographers the Tunisian artist chose comes from a poem its annual Year of Culture initiative. One thing is called Kakaibang Jeddah. This was perhaps by a Tunisian Bedouin. It felt like there was a certain: all eyes look to Saudi art and the perse- the highlight of JAW and an achievement on lot of Tunis at JAW. But, there was Saudi art too verance of those behind 21,39 and JAW. the part of Lazaar, who identified these artists through Arabian Wings and works by Abdulaziz after a discussion with her massage therapist, Ashour and others. “In fact, 80–85 per cent of Moallaqat and Past Is Prologue run until 4 April. who practices underwater photography. La- art shown at JAW was from Saudi Arabia,” For more information visit www.21-39.com and zaar got in touch with “this secret Filipino soci- maintains Lazaar. www.jeddahartweek.com 99
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