One of the strongest work in the Art Dubai 2013: Ahmed Mater shows the shrine in Mecca, as it really is and - thanks to elaborate camera technology - but as no one can see it. The antagonism of cant and dismantling illustrates the paradox of the Kaaba: for one thing, they all, for others it does not contain anything. Ahmed Mater, "golden hour", 2011. 

An estimated 45 million USD worth of artworks were exhibited at Art Dubai over the course of the four-day fair. Strong sales – including major acquisitions by collectors and visiting museum groups – were reported at Pilar Corrias (London), Nubuke Foundation (Accra), Athr Gallery (Jeddah) Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde (Dubai), and Galerie Rodolphe Janssen (Brussels).

Another artist whose work was widely appreciated at the fair was photographer, calligrapher and painter Ahmed Mater, whose monumental photographs document the change that is taking place in the holy city of Mecca. In his ongoing project, “The Desert of Pharan”, the artist is concerned about how construction is altering the landscape of Mecca.

Over in another biennial venue, an abandoned building once used by the Sharjah Islamic Bank, I was taken aback by the number of works that critique aspects of Middle Eastern society. Sarah Abu Abdallah’s ‘Saudi Automobile’ mixed-media installation, 2011, takes a swipe at Saudi Arabia’s medieval law banning women drivers. Ahmed Mater’s 2012 photography series “Desert of Pharan/Room with a View”, depicting the rampant redevelopment around Mecca, is exceptional.

In its seventh edition this year, Art Dubai hosted 75 galleries from 30 different countries showcasing the creative and artistic work of 500 artists. Saudi Arabia was represented by Athr Gallery.

A Saudi collector bought an edition of a photograph from Ahmed Mater’s 2012 series “Desert of Pharan/Adam”, which caused a stir by depicting the rampant redevelopment around Mecca. The Saudi gallery Athr said that demand was high for Mater's supersized photographs of the cranes and construction work threatening to overwhelm Islam's holiest site. All three editions of the large-scale images (Artificial Light and Golden Hour, both 2012) had sold with the final edition of each work priced at $49,000.

The Saudi-based Athr Gallery is showing the work of Ahmed Mater, supersized aerial photographs of the fast-developing area around Mecca and a critique, Mater says, of overzealous planning. The pictures, all cranes and busyness, give little sense of the place’s spiritual significance. The artist points to the Grand Mosque in the centre of the picture. “This is the only thing I respect,” he says. “Not all this,” waving at the cranes. Ideally, Mater wants to show the photographs in Mecca itself. But to show them in Dubai is “testing the waters. I want to hear what thinkers, what intellectuals, think [about the issues].”

The gallery’s founder, Hamza Serafi, is more equivocal about the themes raised by Mater’s photographs. “Artists always have strong statements to make,” he says. “Some people see this as a disturbing image. But these changes are also allowing an extra 1m people to come [to Mecca].” Serafi says the art he likes to display is that which opens up issues for discussion.

Belgian collector Guy Ullens was in a spending mood at Dubai this year. Ullens went on a $1m spree to acquire Middle Eastern artists, buying Ahmad Mater at Athr gallery, Ramin and Rokni Haerizadeh at Isabelle van den Eynde and Pascale Martine Tayou at Continua. He also reserved Ahmed Moualla's 12-metre long “Power and People” (2011), an apocalyptic scene that references the Arab Spring, for $300,000 at Atassi Gallery.

Though Art Dubai might be a somewhat careful art fair—and certainly every fair has its share of “decorative” painting—a great number of its participants display works that lean towards social or political commentary—some more, some less subtle. Athr Gallery from Jeddah devotes one of their two booths to Saudi-Arabian born Sami Al Turki and his ongoing photographic series “Barzakh” (2012–). In these images of strangely hovering architectural structures against a vast expanse of cloudy skies, Al Turki makes a wry comment on the difficulties of finding a “home” in Saudi Arabia.

Twisted metallic sculptures, monumental public installations, compelling art and bold ideas - Jeddah’s Athr Art Gallery is returning to Dubai for Art Week 2013 with their most significant engagement with the city’s annual celebration of Middle Eastern and international art to date.