Athr Gallery head to Doha, Qatar, this month to collaborate with the city’s Katara Cultural Village on ‘Show Of Faith’, a major, multi-media group exhibition on July 11 and running until August 31.

 
Saudi Arabian artist Basmah Felemban's Jeem stems from being in a country whose Wahhabi Islamic traditions promote ritual and daily practice. Her artwork reveals a deeper mystical contemplation of the hidden aspects of religion. Ibrahim Abumsmar's Blackstone is a work whose concept is drawn from historical hadith, as a reminder of how to apply lessons from these stories to our daily life today.

Saudi artist Sami al-Turki discusses the event within the context of being a participant as well as an established practitioner of video art.

Walking through the exhibition, there was an incredibly diverse range of material on show, ranging from documentary footage, to staged ‘performances’ and videos expressing a comical and light-hearted tone. 

Rhizoma: (Generation in Waiting) -the Saudi Arabian Pavilion at this year’s Venice Bienalle produced by Edge of Arabia and co-curated by Sara Raza - opened on May 30 to critical acclaim. The exhibition features a number of young Saudi artists and, in particular, considers their interest in new-media practices.

“Rhizoma: (Generation in Waiting)” was an Edge of Arabia production, co-curated by Sara Raza [ AAP ‘s West and Central Asia desk editor], featured young Saudi artists and looked at their interest in new-media practices. Here, Basmah Felemban’s  Drawn Out Truths (2013), consisting of glass sheets etched with patterns resembling at niqab or burqah that viewers could put their face behind. 

Talking about the unfavorable side of the art world, he said he disliked developing the art scene as a strictly commercial commodity, where the art language and aesthetics transform into identifiable inflexible brands.  Mater pursues themes that are close to him. “The themes of my artworks are personal interpretations of what I am experiencing at that particular time. My artworks are a result of a conversation between my thoughts and what I see.”

The exhibition will show the works of the following artists many of whom are creating new works unique to the exhibition; Abdulkarim Qassem, Abdullah Alothman, Ahaad Alamoudi, Ahmad Angawi, Basmah Felemban, Batool Alshomrani, Dana Awrtani, Eiman Elgibreen, Eyad Maghazil, Heba Abed, Huda Beydoun, Majid Althobaity, Mala’a Al-Amoudi, Mohammad Makki, Nasser Salem, Nora A.Almazrooa, Nouf Alhimiary, Omamah AlSadiq, Ramy Alqthamy, Saeed Salem, Sami Al-Turki, Sarah AbuAbdallah, Sarah Al Abdali, Shaweesh, and YouTube sensations Telfaz 11 and U-Turn.

Athr Gallery stated that video (works) is an introduction to video art in the region, showcasing artworks by the likes of Ahmed Mater and his camera view of Jamrat (the stone throwing ritual in Hajj); Ziad Antar’s short art/documentary on the 2006’s war in Lebanon with a mixture of sounds and visuals; Adel Abidin’s commentary on war and pop culture; Hans Op De Beeck’s architectural video masterpiece “Staging Silence 2;” David Zink Yi’s street dance performance; and Sami Alturki’s protest on overwhelming advertising billboards in the region.

Speaking about her favorite artists, Felemban relates to “Shirin Neshat, her feminine strength and how she’s connected to her roots and culture. Da vinci and how his work is a celebration of science and art; he broke boundaries and followed his guts; and finally, Mounir Fatmi.” Felemban plans to pursue MA in Islamic Art at The Prince’s School of Traditional Art in London. “And now that I’ve signed exclusively with Athr Gallery I think it is going to be a great experience making contemporary art the same time I’m studying pure traditional art.”