Ithra opens 21,39 show in Dhahran exploring local artists in a new light


Melissa Gronlund
  • English
  • Arabic

“What is your place — your makan?” curator Venetia Porter asked the artists for the latest 21,39 exhibition, The Saudi Art Council's annual initiative. “Can you take me to it?”

Porter’s show, Amakin, opened in March in Jeddah. It has now travelled for the first time in the programme's history, launching on Thursday at the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture — Ithra, the Saudi Aramco-funded art centre in the Eastern Province.

Porter's question yielded an intimate, personal and cross-generational exhibition, as visions of home — a changing home, a home one cannot go back to, a home being destroyed by climate change — emerge among the works by 28 artists.

Scroll through the gallery above to see some of the works on show at Ithra

“It was the era of endless Zoom conversations,” she recalls about her preparations for the exhibition, saying her initial plan had been to organise a group field trip across Saudi Arabia. The Covid-19 pandemic gave her video meetings instead, and an extra year to organise it, which she put to use researching young artists or lesser-known parts of historical practices, showing these alongside established Saudi and international names.

21,39 curator Venetia Porter in front of Bashaer Hawsawi's 'Cleansing' (2019)
21,39 curator Venetia Porter in front of Bashaer Hawsawi's 'Cleansing' (2019)

Places emerge through stories, with many of the works gesturing towards recalled or imaginary narratives, or personal and family memories. In a lovely pairing, Emy Kat captures Al Balad in Jeddah without a single image of a mashrabiya or carved woodwork. Instead, he exhibits close-ups of the bright cerulean blue found in the Old Town, in a choppy, stop-and-start grid — a throwback, he says, to when he used to wander through Al Balad as a boy and get lost in its labyrinth. The memory from his childhood sits alongside portraits of the small children who accompanied him when he went to shoot the photographs on a residency in 2012, on a visit from France.

Placed next to this is a wall made of the crumbling coral material of Al Balad, by Asma Bahmim, in which she has incorporated folded up bits of paper featuring her wishes, with snippets of their hoped-for outcomes barely visible.

Bashaer Hawsawi shows wall-based textile works in Cleansing (2019), for which she places the bristles of a red plastic broom on to African fabrics in neat, gridded patterns. Here, the materials tell of Hawsawi’s family history: some of her family were mutawifun, who take care of the pilgrims to Makkah, and who came from Nigeria generations ago.

One of the exhibition's highlights is the video Yallah, Yallah Beenah! (2022) by Mohammed Hammad, a surrealist take on the entrance into adulthood, complete with talking feet and laser-eyed witches. This note of surrealism and visual spectacle resonates throughout several works by young creators in the show, co-existing with Porter’s predilection towards artists’ books and works on paper.

A coven of young witches in Mohammed Hammad's fantastic film, 'Yallah, Yallah Beenah!' (2022), shown at 21,39. Photo: Saudi Art Council
A coven of young witches in Mohammed Hammad's fantastic film, 'Yallah, Yallah Beenah!' (2022), shown at 21,39. Photo: Saudi Art Council

At times, the tempo shift from spectacle towards the intimacy of artists' book is abrupt, but it is interesting to watch how the younger cohort of creators sought after both scale and the private reflection usually associated with drawing or notebooks. Obadah Aljefri, for example, created a giant lavender Moleskine notebook, adorned with kitsch, fantastical drawings that he describes as a collaboration between himself in the present and the child he used to be. Ending the show is Sara Abdu's sublime presentation of The Infinite Now, 15 hanging scrolls of paper in which she attempted to write a straight line in henna ink — a perforative act that attempted to site her “place” as out of body, out of mind.

Porter is the longtime curator of Islamic and contemporary Middle East art at the British Museum, where she has built up for the museum an important collection of works on paper. Her specialism in this area also grounds the 21,39 exhibition in a classicism, of the skills of draughtsmanship and calligraphy, which are on the wane in contemporary art. In some cases, that means showing the work of artists who still come up through classical training, such as Pakistani creators Imran Qureshi or Aisha Khalid, both in Lahore. Khalid’s green-textured patterns, minutely drawn, are overlaid with gold-leaf shapes in an evocation of the Kaaba.

Porter also reaches back into the past to show substantial presentations of senior names, such as Dia al-Azzawi, Safeya Binzagr and Abdulhalim Radwi, where the focus on the works on paper provides a glimpse of the artists' hand, something the formality of major creations usually obscures.

“I’m interested in artists who use paper. That is, I'm interested in process. In drawings, you can feel the hand of the artist, see their thought process,” Porter tells The National.

For Binzagr, for example, instead of her oil paintings, Porter chooses her watercolours, sketches and etchings — by far her more interesting work — in which Binzagr documents traditional rites, activities, children’s games and the dresses of different tribes of the kingdom. Juxtapositions of preparatory sketches and their outcome in etchings and prints demonstrate the process Binzagr took towards her final product.

This preparatory drawing for an etching by Safeya Binzagr depicts the family home in Jeddah's Old Town, where she was born in 1940. Photo: Darat Safeya Binzagr
This preparatory drawing for an etching by Safeya Binzagr depicts the family home in Jeddah's Old Town, where she was born in 1940. Photo: Darat Safeya Binzagr

Similarly, Porter shows not only Radwi's well-known, symbolist paintings, but the trove of sketches that he kept in his studio.

“For Radwi, too, most people know him for his oil paintings,” she says. “At one point I asked, what else does he have in his estate? And his son brought out an enormous portfolio with these drawings, which are completely unknown, unpublished. They’re undated, so they’re obviously pieces he did not expect to exhibit.

"You see in these drawings an informality that you lose in the oil paintings. And at one point, he clearly decided he wanted to experiment with print gouaches. So this has been an opportunity to find, even from the established artists, work that people don't normally associate with them.”

Porter's research yielded work that has been seen publicly before, such as this watercolour by the Saudi modernist Abdulhalim Radwi. Photo: Estate of Abdulhalim Radwi
Porter's research yielded work that has been seen publicly before, such as this watercolour by the Saudi modernist Abdulhalim Radwi. Photo: Estate of Abdulhalim Radwi

Porter also researched the artists of the Department of the Cultural and Arts Society in the Eastern Province (the Jame’a Al Thagafah wa Alfunoon), which emerged in the 1990s and is less well known than other modernist art societies in the kingdom. Some exquisite works by Abdulrahman AlSoliman, new for the Ithra exhibition, display the Al Sharqiya painter’s responses to the damage done to the coast during the First Gulf War, when oil spills travelled up from Kuwait and decimated bird and plant life.

The historical additions help move the exhibition away from the same roster of artists that Saudi Arabia's scene at times cycles through. Indeed, this is the first fully public 21,39 since the Covid-19 hiatus (the art historian Fabien Danesi curated a show for last year that was unable to open), and it emerges in a new context in the kingdom's contemporary art landscape.

Once alone in its goals, it now sits among Diriyah Biennale, Desert X AlUla, the myriad Ministry of Culture projects and those of the new Jeddah arts complex Hayy Jameel, located not far from 21,39’s traditional Gold Moor mall digs.

Having 21,39 at Ithra underlines the fact that all these exist in a spirit of collaboration instead of competition, says Farah Abushullaih, head of Ithra Museums.

“The Saudi Art Council is one of the most established entities in the kingdom,” she says. “They’re a part of the movers and shakers of the industry. We share a similar vision and mission when it comes to wanting to support and develop the local ecosystem here in the kingdom, but also to make sure that we show international voices as well.”

Future 21,39 exhibitions might again travel to Ithra, says Abushullaih. At Ithra, the museum is re-examining its programming after two years of extreme disruption, as with everywhere else in the world. A more local emphasis is likely to take hold, perhaps because the enforced locality of lockdown has made artists and curators realise, as Porter did for Amakin, how much research there is to be done about the communities we already live in.

Amakin is at King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture — Ithra in Dhahran until September 30; www.ithra.com

Scroll through the gallery below to see images from Desert X AlUla 2022

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

Results
  • Brock Lesnar retained the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns
  • Braun Strowman and Nicolas won the Raw Tag Team titles against Sheamus and Cesaro
  • AJ Styles retained the WWE World Heavyweight title against Shinsuke Nakamura
  • Nia Jax won the Raw Women’s title against Alexa Bliss
  • Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon beat Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
  • The Undertaker beat John Cena
  • The Bludgeon Brothers won the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos and New Day
  • Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle beat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
  • Jinder Mahal won the United States title against Randy Orton, Rusev and Bobby Roode
  • Charlotte retained the SmackDown Women’s title against Asuka
  • Seth Rollins won the Intercontinental title against The Miz and Finn Balor
  • Naomi won the first WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal
  • Cedric Alexander won the vacant Cruiserweight title against Mustafa Ali
  • Matt Hardy won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal
Rocketman

Director: Dexter Fletcher

Starring: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars 

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

Cracks in the Wall

Ben White, Pluto Press 

The biog

Siblings: five brothers and one sister

Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota

Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym

Favourite place: UAE

Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera

What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEdinburgh%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20November%204%20%3Cem%3E(unchanged)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBahrain%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20November%2015%20%3Cem%3E(from%20September%2015)%3C%2Fem%3E%3B%20second%20daily%20service%20from%20January%201%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EKuwait%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20November%2015%20%3Cem%3E(from%20September%2016)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMumbai%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20October%2027)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAhmedabad%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20October%2027)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EColombo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202%20%3Cem%3E(from%20January%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMuscat%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cem%3E%20%3C%2Fem%3EMarch%201%3Cem%3E%20(from%20December%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ELyon%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20March%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20December%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBologna%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20March%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20December%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3ESource%3A%20Emirates%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match on BeIN Sports

While you're here
The lowdown

Badla

Rating: 2.5/5

Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment 

Director: Sujoy Ghosh

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ILT20%20UAE%20stars
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ELEADING%20RUN%20SCORERS%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1%20Nicholas%20Pooran%2C%20261%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E2%20Muhammad%20Waseem%20(UAE)%2C%20248%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E3%20Chris%20Lynn%2C%20244%3Cbr%3E4%20Johnson%20Charles%2C%20232%3Cbr%3E5%20Kusal%20Perera%2C%20230%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBEST%20BOWLING%20AVERAGE%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E(minimum%2010%20overs%20bowled)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E1%20Zuhaib%20Zubair%20(UAE)%2C%209%20wickets%20at%2012.44%3Cbr%3E2%20Mohammed%20Rohid%20(UAE)%2C%207%20at%2013.00%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E3%20Fazalhaq%20Farooqi%2C%2017%20at%2013.05%3Cbr%3E4%20Waqar%20Salamkheil%2C%2010%20at%2014.08%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E5%20Aayan%20Khan%20(UAE)%2C%204%20at%2015.50%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E6%20Wanindu%20Hasaranga%2C%2012%20at%2016.25%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E7%20Mohammed%20Jawadullah%20(UAE)%2C%2010%20at%2017.00%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mozn%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammed%20Alhussein%2C%20Khaled%20Al%20Ghoneim%2C%20Abdullah%20Alsaeed%20and%20Malik%20Alyousef%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Riyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Shorooq%20Partners%2C%20VentureSouq%2C%20Sukna%20Ventures%20and%20others%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Du Plessis plans his retirement

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said on Friday the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia in two years' time will be his last.

Du Plessis, 34, who has led his country in two World T20 campaigns, in 2014 and 2016, is keen to play a third but will then step aside.

"The T20 World Cup in 2020 is something I'm really looking forward to. I think right now that will probably be the last tournament for me," he said in Brisbane ahead of a one-off T20 against Australia on Saturday. 

Major honours

ARSENAL

  • FA Cup - 2005

BARCELONA

  • La Liga - 2013
  • Copa del Rey - 2012
  • Fifa Club World Cup - 2011

CHELSEA

  • Premier League - 2015, 2017
  • FA Cup - 2018
  • League Cup - 2015

SPAIN

  • World Cup - 2010
  • European Championship - 2008, 2012
The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
  • Flexible work arrangements
  • Pension support
  • Mental well-being assistance
  • Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
  • Financial well-being incentives 
Updated: July 04, 2022, 9:36 AM`