[gallery td_select_gallery_slide="slide" ids="7110,7111,7112,7113,7114,7115,7116"] Mariam Nihal Saudi Gazette
Saudi artist Abdulnasser Gharem does it again. This time with ‘Ricochet'. Implying that every action by any government may cause direct and indirect chain reactions. In what exemplifies a dark destructive fantasy, he creates a striking image of a stealth bomber that is descending from the mosque at Isfahan in Iran, with bellowing smoke just hanging in the air. "Usually people look skywards for inspiration, but now they look up and see a bomber coming towards them," Gharem said. He explained the pieces were constructed out of the materials used by Saudi bureaucracy for stamps. "With these stamps and systems, they are killing humanity and dreams. They keep you in a cage." But his real message relies not just on taking a stand, but to educate the youth before "Isis does." A former lieutenant colonel in the Saudi army, Abdulnasser believes the youth should choose arts and education over terrorism. They have energy and have little to do in their own country – so what would you expect them to do?" His new body of work runs in an exhibition from October 12 to 18 in London. Ricochet is the first international exhibition organised by The Abdulnasser Gharem Foundation in Riyadh. The exhibition presents work from Gharem himself, alongside works by four other younger artists from the foundation: Aljan Gharem, Shaweesh, Dhafer Alshehr and Njoud Alanbari. The artists tackle self-contradictory and taboo issues that impact everyday lives in Saudi Arabia through different mediums of art including sculpting, photography, video art, installations and performances. Abdulnasser Gharem is showcasing a new sculpture and a painting, titled Ricochet reflecting ideologies at war in the Muslim world. He also conducts Hejama, an Islamic ritual intended to cleanse bad blood from the body, that involves wet cupping to draw blood by vacuum. The cups form a cross on a map of the Middle East inked across the Shaweesh's back. "I was trying to find something that symbolised the detoxification of a bad ideology. They have wealth and didn't use it for the benefit of the people or for any humanitarian good, but to cause fire and heat for the ideology of the tribes." Then there is Aniconsim, a mannequin that Abdulnasser bought in Dubai but could not bring home because of its nude form. Him and his friends had to deconstruct and divide it among different cars to bring it back to Saudi Arabia for it to be resurrected. Of course the idea is to demonstrate the nature of the challenges Saudi artists face which in turn creates a lack of opportunities for them. This is also an example of the strength of Saudi artists and how they can overcome barriers to engage with core aesthetics of the art world. Abdulnasser's younger brother, Aljan Gharem is showcasing a video work from an installation in Saudi depicting a 10 x 30m cage that has been turned into a mosque with performances drawn from the work of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. It is a screenshot of perhaps how caged ideology can look and feel. "The idea is that ideology is a cage," Abdulnasser said. Ajlan looks at mosques as a channel used by the system or individual that assumes authority to dictate desirable verdicts and laws. This could be a father, neighborly imam or even the state. A mixed media artist and teacher in an all girls' school in Riyadh, Njoud Alanbari, portray the contradictory and confusing times we live in. Her work shows that younger girls are presented themes that are haram (forbidden) for them but are ironically also introduced to the very feelings they aim to counter at the same time. In the video clip, young school girls play around a wall with inscribed messages under the patronage of pointed swords– representing they are already at a daily war with the exotic other. Street artist Shaweesh sculpted a Sheikh's head attached to a bomb trigger behind representing a hypocritical holy alliance. The installation shows a sharp contrast with the ironic structure that prefers self-detonation with an audience. Dhafer Al Shehri collages and splits the masses including pilgrims, football fans and the general public while measuring individualism in a society that chooses to belong to an ideology or cult, semi-consciously rather than themselves. Abdulnasser is the world's highest-paid Arab artist because of a 2011 auction at Christie's Dubai where his piece was sold for $842,000. Ricochet Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, London W1G 7LP 12 – 18 October 2015, from 9.00 until 18.00 Monday to Friday; and from 10.00 until 17:45 on Saturday and Sunday Visit
