Al Balad, 2012

Al Balad series, 2012, 33.8 x 27 cm, Silkscreen Print and Embroidery on Fabric.

My representation of Jeddah’s old town looks into bridging the gap between the historical and the contemporary. The towering hand carved wooden facades that enrich the district are embellished and revived with the use of brightly coloured embroidery thread. The choice of colour of thread is deeply rooted in Saudi Bedouin culture and encapsulates Jeddah’s soul.

Outsider notions of Saudi dress is limited to the black Abbaya for women, yet traditional Saudi culture and customs hold great importance in the value of colour and its symbolism to nature and surrounding environment.

The deconstruction of the series, visually in terms of representation and symbolically in terms of colour and composition, is what presents a multi-layered perception of such a multilayered and complex society.