{"id":53790,"date":"2025-02-26T13:02:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T13:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/cheetah-lion-and-buffalo-sculptures-unveiled-in-riyadh-park\/"},"modified":"2025-02-26T13:02:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T13:02:00","slug":"cheetah-lion-and-buffalo-sculptures-unveiled-in-riyadh-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=53790","title":{"rendered":"Cheetah, lion and buffalo sculptures unveiled in Riyadh park"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tRIYADH: A Saudi traveling exhibition, titled \u201cArt of the Kingdom: Poetic Illuminations,\u201d opened on Monday in Riyadh at the Saudi Arabian Museum of Contemporary Art following its inauguration in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil last year.<\/p>\n
\n\tNestled in the capital\u2019s Jax art district, the show brings together works by 17 prominent Saudi contemporary artists from different generations, regions, and artistic practices that demonstrate the country\u2019s burgeoning art scene.<\/p>\n \n\t
\n\t\tBasmah Felemban’s “Brink of the Sea” (2025). (Supplied)<\/figcaption>
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\n\tMona Khazindar, adviser to the Ministry of Culture, said: \u201cThe Museums Commission is proud to present \u2018Art of the Kingdom\u2019 at SAMoCA at Jax, an exhibition showcasing Saudi Arabia\u2019s dynamic artistic landscape, where tradition meets innovation.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe are thrilled to celebrate Saudi creative practices in this way and invite audiences, both locally and internationally, to explore our history and culture through contemporary art.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t \n\t\tDaniah AlSaleh’s “Hinat” (2022). (Supplied)<\/figcaption>
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\n\tFrom paintings to installations and video works, the exhibition showcases the diversity and ambition of contemporary Saudi artists under two themes: the desert and cultural traditions.<\/p>\n
\n\tFatma Abdulhadi\u2019s \u201cIt Will Heal\u201d explores the evolving dialogue between humans and nature, where traditional practices become ongoing processes.<\/p>\n \n\t \n\t\tFatma Abdulhadi\u2019s “It Will Heal” (2025). (AN photo)<\/figcaption>
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\n\tInspired by an old handwritten remedy book passed down to her by her mother, it transforms layered silkscreen prints and charcoal drawings on suspended mesh. Just as plants communicate and adapt, the phrase \u201cit will heal you, inshallah\u201d reflects a belief in continuous connection and renewal.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s a dialogue between humans and nature and everything in between, the recipe that humans do to feel safe, to feel healthy, to feel better,\u201d Abdulhadi said.<\/p>\n \n\t \n\t\tFilwa Nazer\u2019s \u201cThe Hands Want to See, The Eyes Want to Caress\u201d (2021). (Supplied)<\/figcaption>
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\n\tThe sheets feature prints of the plants mentioned in the book as well as recipes in Arabic. The recipes are meant to help heal both physical and emotional troubles. One of the recipes for happiness recommends drinking camel milk with a drop of amber.<\/p>\n
\n\tMoath Alofi has two works on display: \u201cPeople of Pangea\u201d and \u201cThe Last Tashahhud.\u201d The former is a series of photos that provide an unconventional view of various locations in Saudi, while the latter is an ongoing photo series that captures small and modest mosques on the deserted roads leading to Madinah.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThese prayer rooms aren\u2019t the usual ones, and this is what makes them really stand out. The raw architecture, the invention that the locals, tribals, Bedouins, or even philanthropists sometimes are trying to achieve by providing travelers a place for rest and worship and prayers\u2014it\u2019s interesting to see the material used, the architecture.
\n\t\u201cI think international audiences will be surprised to see something that\u2019s not usually shown,\u201d Alofi told Arab News.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe work is shown in contrast with the anthropological sites captured in \u201cPeople of Pangea\u201d on the opposing wall of the exhibition.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s not only about the locals or the people who built the mosques but also the ancient humans that actually lived on the land of Saudi Arabia 7,000 years ago. There has always been something happening in this Kingdom.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYou can see that Saudi artists are top notch \u2014 they\u2019re up to the challenge, and I\u2019m honored to be part of this as well,\u201d Alofi said about local artists making it to international frontiers.<\/p>\n
\n\tFilwa Nazer\u2019s \u201cThe Hands Want to See, The Eyes Want to Caress\u201d series incorporates sewing and embroidery on mixed media. The four pieces on display, each in dialogue with the other, explore the interplay of fragility and strength.<\/p>\n
\n\tShe told Arab News: \u201cThe focus was to document and research Jeddah modernist architecture between the late 30s and early 60s. My works were inspired by one house called Beit Ba Junaid \u2014 the owner of the house and its history and how it changed and evolved, and later on deteriorated over time and abandoned.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI love being part of these exhibitions, organized by (the Ministry of Culture) and such, because I feel they are quite accessible to everyone, first of all. Second, they\u2019re a place to connect with Saudi youth, and I want to have that communication with them, so I\u2019m proud to be part of it and with my peers who are all great artists and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tOther featured artists include Muhannad Shono, Lina Gazzaz, Manal Al-Dowayan, Ayman Zedani, Ahmed Mater, Ahaad Al-Amoudi, Shadia Alem, Faisal Samra, Ayman Yossri Daydban, Daniah Al-Saleh, Sarah Brahim, Ahmad Angawi, Nasser Al-Salem, and Basmah Felemban.<\/p>\n
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