 ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I am a Saudi woman artist. I use the beautiful language of art for the sake of social change towards justice, equality, and freedom of expression. My work explores religious and social belief systems, especially those dealing with women, sexuality and understanding the other. I make art in Arabic by using Calligraphy, images of Arab people, Islamic ornamentation and architecture, henna and colorful fabrics. I seek to investigate the status of contemporary Arab art and cultivate its independence from Western art and its distinction from other Middle Eastern and Islamic identities. |
My work is often a portrait of a woman. I collect information about women who inspire me either by research or by direct interviews. I make drawings of stylized figures and faces representing those women and integrate them with Islamic ornamentation. I then silk screen them onto fabrics, often using henna and dye and often repetitively. I use large sheets of silk, wool, canvas, or other cottons. Then I build shrines and tents with these fabrics, creating spaces in which the viewer walks barefoot. I also make objects such as archways, cushions, rugs, bowls or geometric sculptures that reflect some aspect of the woman’s personality and incorporate them in the installation. Other materials that I frequently used as well are sand, light, sound, oil perfumes and scents
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