RIYADH: Saudi creative hub Burble’s collaboration with anonymous artist Mo Lazem Tearef has brought a spooky-themed exhibition titled “My friend is a Vampire!” to Riyadh.
Held until Nov. 8 at Huna Takhassusi, the interactive exhibition includes a space that resembles an apartment and five bright artworks created with spray paint, telling the story of MLT’s journey of meeting a vampire.
The independent artist’s name Mo Lazim Tearef, or MLT, translates to “you don’t need to know.”
Prince Mohammed bin Bandar, founder of Burble, said that the exhibition is his sixth curated work and is inspired by a trip he took with MLT to London in November 2011.
He added: “This exhibition is different from the rest … the difference here is that I’m a part of this story. Everything happened in front of me.”
While staying at a hotel, the pair met a doorman with the features and manners of a vampire. They described him as “tall, pale, and brandishing a striking set of fangs” and that the man “only worked night shifts.”
He said: “Whenever I talk to my friends and inner circle we open up discussions about vampires or even watch a film about them. ”
10 years after their trip to London, MLT met a Saudi resident in Riyadh, with similar characteristics to the doorman he saw in London, which sparked the creation of the art pieces.
The exhibition takes visitors through the journey of how MLT made his new friend, ending with an interactive installation.
The installation resembles the apartment of the man MLT met in Riyadh. On the table is a bag of sandwiches with no garlic, next to a makeup palette with just light colors used. The corner of the room has a rack of jackets and parallel to it is a fridge with blood bags. It is all carefully curated to tell a story.
Prince Mohammed said: “It is very important for the exhibition to not just include artworks, but also an installation. It is so vital for there to be an experience … it does not work to just see artwork on a white wall. We needed to do something different and MLT was very supportive of this.”
He added that this was the artist’s first time using spray paint to create works. The exhibition is the second chapter of a series for their collaboration.
Chapter one ended at the beginning of October and was themed “Grandpa’s Kid,” a heartfelt exhibition about family.
The prince said that working with MLT “is difficult and easy all at the same time” because his art style involves no rules.
He added: “Every time we go to art exhibitions around the world, he always says: ‘Why are there rules in art?’ He likes to break the barrier of the norm and he sees that there are no limits.”
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