Ammar Al Attar
Medina-Arab Open University, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0000
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Farsi Center, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0001
Ammar Al Attar
Makkah-Fish Market, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0002
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-King Abdulaziz Airport, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0003
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Cars Industrial Area, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of , Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0004
Ammar Al Attar
Medina-Taiba Industrial Area, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0005
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Quraish Trade Center, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0006
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Al Serrafi Mall, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0007
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Al Sawareekh Market, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0008
Ammar Al Attar
Makkah-Makkah Towers, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0009
Ammar Al Attar
Medina-Dar Al Salam Station, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0010
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Red Sea Mall, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
Ammar Al Attar
Medina-Al Murad Center, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0012
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Medina Road .. Al Dhahri Station, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0013
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Al Mahmal Center, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Al Rouda District, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0015
Ammar Al Attar
Makkah-Al Masjid Al Haram Road, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0016
Ammar Al Attar
Makkah-Al Aziziyyah Industrial, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Cournish, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
Ammar Al Attar
Saudi Arabian Airlines, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
Ammar Al Attar
Medina-Arab Open University, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0000
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Farsi Center, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0001
Ammar Al Attar
Makkah-Fish Market, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0002
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-King Abdulaziz Airport, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0003
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Cars Industrial Area, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of , Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0004
Ammar Al Attar
Medina-Taiba Industrial Area, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0005
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Quraish Trade Center, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0006
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Al Serrafi Mall, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0007
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Al Sawareekh Market, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0008
Ammar Al Attar
Makkah-Makkah Towers, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0009
Ammar Al Attar
Medina-Dar Al Salam Station, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0010
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Red Sea Mall, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
Ammar Al Attar
Medina-Al Murad Center, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0012
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Medina Road .. Al Dhahri Station, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0013
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Al Mahmal Center, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Al Rouda District, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0015
Ammar Al Attar
Makkah-Al Masjid Al Haram Road, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
AAA0016
Ammar Al Attar
Makkah-Al Aziziyyah Industrial, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
Ammar Al Attar
Jeddah-Cournish, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
Ammar Al Attar
Saudi Arabian Airlines, 2012
Lambda C-Print Matte
42 x 52.4 cm (16 1/2 x 20 5/8 in.)
Edition of 3, Courtesy of Artist and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
Ammar Al Attar surveys prayer rooms across Jeddah. Mandated in public buildings by national legislation, these informal worship areas are ubiquitous, providing the faithful a place for their five prayers a day regardless of their location.
The viewer experiences the artist’s perspective of these rooms as they are. Nothing is altered or staged, not even the lighting. The authenticity of the depictions allows the series to collectively describe an engagement with a space. This uncontrived honesty towards a subject is characteristic of Al Attar’s oeuvre.
The interiors are often humble, in line with Islamic tenets and in contrast to the region’s exterior architectural opulence. Serenity and stillness are prevalent in these makeshift rooms, elevating their spatial reality as industrial caravans or rooms in malls and business centers, to that of egalitarian spiritual sanctuaries. The prayer rooms mark the passage of time directly through the ever-present, often multiple occurrence of clocks, and more imperceptibly through the awareness of the movement of the sun.
Rituals that take place before entering the rooms are inferred – ablutions and perhaps even a call to prayer. One cannot help but wonder about the individuals in these very different spaces, performing the same rites. This sense of order and togetherness offers a reprieve from the bustling chaos of urban development. Even the demarcated rows in the carpeting are a comfort.
Al Attar chronicles his surroundings and contemporary landscape, going beyond mere documentation, and engaging with issues impacting the social fabric. These empty constructs where people meet are widely scattered evidence of faith, embodying the crossover between public and private space. The locales appear obscure, but upon closer inspection provide a visual history of the artist’s rapidly developing country by presenting a cultural continuity which is rarely visible amidst overwhelming change.