110 I get a kick out of exhibitions (or literature or talks) that communicate the undisputed, humble fact that a visual art arena in various parts of the Arab world existed before the ‘Middle Eastern art boom’, ie longer than a decade ago. Bashar Al-Shroogi’s Fast Forward is one such initiative: it begins with the origins of the Modern Saudi art movement – a (perilous) feat as one ought to consider a severe lack of documentation and minimal government sup- port – and bravely goes forth, (again, perilously), trailing a track until the Contemporary. Indeed, the peril is in the narration of art history, for in the absence of a proper archive, whose story is one telling and how all-encompassing is it? This is at the very crux of the Bahraini-born dealer/curator’s show: however informative, educational and eye-opening Fast Forward is, it certainly lacks in key areas – obvious to both enthusiasts and professionals alike. “[This show] draws the need for documenting our history as we go along and is an open call to the audience to help us in gathering more information,” insists Al-Shroogi. More on this to follow. Jeddah’s January slot on the art calendar witnessed the presence of more protagonists, press and patrons from across the world at the sophomore itera- tion of the 21,39 cultural initiative, but also noted the absence of Jeddah Art Week (JAW), spearheaded by Lina Lazaar of Sotheby’s. There had been no com- ment about this from the Tunisian-born Head of Sale, but rumours abound that she may be considering JAW in Abha in the Eastern Province of Asir, home to the Al-Meftaha Cultural Village, which harvested talents such as Ahmed Mater and Abdulnasser Gharem. A jam-packed schedule of luncheons and dinners at the homes of hospitable Saudi art patrons aside, 21,39 ’s VIP programme also included trips to King Abdullah Economic City and the open-air museum of the restored sculptures that were amassed by ex-Jeddah mayor, Dr Mohamed Said Farsi; gallery visits and a private view of Inner Voices , a street art exhibition in Myrna Ayad reviews the second incarnation of the 21,39 cultural initiative and Jeddah’s surrounding satellite shows. JEDDAH IN JANUARY 111 REVIEW the city’s old Al-Balad area. More luncheons and dinners, chartered flights to Mada’in Saleh and Medina and the symposium were cancelled due to the passing of King Abdullah. There is something to be said about the gra- ciousness of the members of the Saudi Art Coun- cil (SAC) – the cultural army behind 21,39 , pre- sided over by HRH Princess Jawaher Bint Majed Bin Abdelaziz Al-Saud, President of the Al-Man- souria Foundation. “There’s an understanding, they all care, they’re all working together, they’re all dreaming together,” commented art historian Dr Nada Shabout. It definitely did feel – just as it did in 21,39’ s last edition – that SAC operates as a tight unit, a community of like-minded pa- trons who share the same goal: to put Saudi art and Jeddah on the art map. And indeed this unit has done so. In just a short period of time, SAC – and good Saudi art – have managed to attract some of the art world’s heavyweights to the Red Sea port city; the museum groups of the British Museum, Tate, Guggenheim and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; curators Sam Bardaouil, Till Fellrath, Sara Raza, Abdelkader Damani and Catherine David; and patrons Sheikha Mai Al- Khalifa from Bahrain and London’s Fatima and Eskander Maleki. THE SATELLITE SHOWS Before I get to Fast Forward , two other exhibitions are worthy of note for different reasons: Athr Gal- lery’s group show [Insert Range Here] and Section 11 , Rashed Al-Shashai’s solo at Hafez Gallery. The latter, structured like a classroom to reflect on the artist’s profession as a schoolteacher, is unequivo- cally outlandish. The Umayyad Mosque, Wile E Coyote, Road Runner and hints of the oeuvres of Monir Fatmi, Ahmed Mater and Farhad Moshiri clutter the space and obscure the curatorial mes- sage, which, according to the show’s catalogue, “offers resounding observations on the political and societal shifts that are currently transforming spirituality and culture in the Arab world.” Could have fooled me. “I don’t want to see kitschy, sim- plistic Middle Eastern art anymore,” observed Bardaouil. Ditto. It may have been kitschy and simplistic for the Lebanese curator, but it certainly wasn’t for a British journalist, who, when viewing Al-Shashai’s The Islamic World , a work featuring paper cutters that map out the Middle East, asked if the piece was “perhaps a map of the caliphate?” As the English would say, what does that have to do with the price of tea in China? (This was the same journalist who asked Al-Shroogi how the death of the King would affect the Kingdom’s fu- ture cultural activities. Just saying.) This spread (from far left): Ibrahim Abumsmar’s Language No Good at Athr Gallery. 2015. Barber shop installation, four image prints, neon light and ottoman chair. Variable dimensions. Photography by Myrna Ayad; Rashed Al-Shashai’s Peep peep at Hafez Gallery. 2015. Light box covered with black acrylic. 226 x 120 cm. Photography by Myrna Ayad. A gallery featuring images of the sculptures amassed by ex-Jeddah mayor Dr Mohamed Said Farsi and in the foreground, a sculpture by Saudi artist Dia Aziz Dia. Man’s Dream . 1992. Prototype bronze model. Variable dimensions. Fast Forward attempts to tell the story of the history of Modern and Contemporary art in the Kingdom – a feast for scholars and some enthusiasts in attendance, but for the masses? Not so much. 112 The gem in Section 11 , however, was tucked in the gallery’s backroom and felt like it was the work of another artist. The gallery’s Qaswra Hafez was a little cagey about explaining the works due to their sensitive nature (then why show them?): these being photographs of Mondassah Village, from where Juhayman Al-Otaybi planned his 1979 siege of Mecca; the events, many believe, are the harbingers of Al-Qaeda. More documentarian than artistic, the common denominator between these photographs and the ad- jacent leisure land is a desire to educate, though the narrative screws could have been tightened, like they were at Athr. Both galleries, it seems, had something ‘sensitive’ to share: at Athr, the au- dience was treated to a live performance by Mater, who wrote ‘no freedom for the enemies of freedom’ on a wall, perhaps in ode to jailed Saudi writer and activist Raif Badawi. The cutting-edge show featured the works of Saudi artists such as Shadia Alem, Nasser Al-Salem and Ibrahim Abumsmar in what was a fluid, Conceptual exhibition of different takes on Arabic script. “Lan- guage is a form of communicating through art, and it’s not necessarily cal- ligraphic,” says the gallery’s Mohammed Hafiz, who curated the show. “[Cal- ligraphy] is integral to us as Saudis, whether in found objects, philosophical writing such as that of Bakr Sheikhoon, Western movies dubbed in Arabic like Ayman Yossri Daydban’s, Al-Salem’s installations and so on.” It’s hard to say which work stole the show, but those in the lead are Mahdi Al-Jeraibi’s installation of wooden desks, Al-Salem’s tent installation and Abumsmar’s replica of a Saudi barber shop – an impressive coming-of-age work for the young Saudi artist, who reflected on the necessity for foreigners to adapt language for sake of comprehension. REWIND, NOT FORWARD Ah, comprehension – an apt word vis-à-vis the ambitious exhibition, Fast Forward . No doubt, the well-hung show is hard-core academic, research- based and more historical than artistic. I almost wish it was staged at the debut 21,39 , which presented Moallaqat (based on the revered hanging po- ems) and Past Is Prologue (works by the Kingdom’s Modern artists). Fast For- ward attempts to tell the story of the history of Modern and Contemporary art in the Kingdom – a feast for scholars and some enthusiasts in attendance, but for the masses? Not so much. Art is to be seen first, one could argue (an aesthetic experience), and only then ‘read’ (an intellectual discourse). In galleries such as those filled with images of the sculptures amassed by Farsi, one wondered if these were archival photographs or artistic ones. A severely minimal number of artworks and the almost non-existent captioning didn’t help – there was no equilibrium between text, documents and visuals. “The strength of a good curator is to bring academics and aesthetics together equally. They need to be 50-50, not 80-20 to call it an ‘art show’,” said one Saudi collector. “This was not achieved here.” Al-Shroogi continuously stresses that the exhibition is a sort of ‘open-call’ inviting people to add to the story of Saudi’s art history. Fair enough, but chal- lenging for a genre that already suffers from a dearth of documentation. It is the audience who requires answers, not the audience who provides them. Pivotal moments were either glorified or completely missing; case in point for the latter is the absence of Faisal Samra, who is considered a pioneer of the Contemporary Saudi art movement. I’ve since heard that work by him has been included in the show. Naturally, in my capacity as editor of Canvas and of the tome, Contem- porary Kingdom: The Saudi Art Scene Now (which was launched at the inaugural 21,39 ), I was surprised not to find this seminal publication among those on dis- play. “This is where the exhibition can point to gaps and fill them in,” responded Al-Shroogi. This is probably where the exhibition’s name – Fast Forward – works: it is a zip through Saudi art history. “Whenever people, especially those outside Saudi, see what’s happening, they see it as an accelerated rate,” says Al-Shroogi. “Let this show take you through the ecosystem. Fast Forward highlights areas where we are actually fast-forwarding through – possibly because of gaps.” This is not a show that has an end, nor a beginning and for this reason, I do hope that it is augmented qualitatively and visually, enough to tour other cities and enough to educate and inspire. I also hope that this translates into a book, far, far better than the token catalogue published alongside the exhibition. There is a dire need to ‘fast-forward’ on documentation – isn’t that the whole point? For more information visit www.21-39.com This page: A gallery featuring works from Shadia and Raja Alem’s 1999 Jineyaat Laar series. All images courtesy 21,39, unless otherwise specified.