Artist Statement
Henna is my hometown’s unnamed goddess. There, the clash between beauty and austerity parallels the rivalry between vivid colors of clothes and furniture and the monochrome of the desert. My palette echoes this collision: I either work in vibrant, almost gaudy colors or in monochrome, made of henna as dye and ink. Hofuf’s grandmothers make sure their communities have adequate henna adornments. Patterns of henna and sadou (traditional Bedouin weaving), Arabic calligraphy, and Islamic design wrap around and frame my images. Stylized human figures inhabit the images' centers.
In Islamic art, such representations are controversial, which is relevant to the issues my work addresses: gender equality, sexual independence, and the role of women in Arab history and Islam. My childhood memories of Hofuf, Saudi Arabia, are a reservoir of endless inspiration and passion: class systems, women’s spaces, traditions, and aesthetics all interacted in the small but ancient city.
In 1997, I left my home longing for independence and freedom of expression. After making art alongside my career in medicine for several years, I decided to give art my full attention. I obtained an MFA and a Master’s degree in art history. Today, I work in two main media: screen printing and installation. My print sizes tend to be large, at times scaled to provide for my second medium. Using rolls of printed fabric or paper, I build spaces and passages that reference Islamic architecture. They feature sound tracks and house murals and small sculptures. All tell women’s stories.
In Islamic art, such representations are controversial, which is relevant to the issues my work addresses: gender equality, sexual independence, and the role of women in Arab history and Islam. My childhood memories of Hofuf, Saudi Arabia, are a reservoir of endless inspiration and passion: class systems, women’s spaces, traditions, and aesthetics all interacted in the small but ancient city.
In 1997, I left my home longing for independence and freedom of expression. After making art alongside my career in medicine for several years, I decided to give art my full attention. I obtained an MFA and a Master’s degree in art history. Today, I work in two main media: screen printing and installation. My print sizes tend to be large, at times scaled to provide for my second medium. Using rolls of printed fabric or paper, I build spaces and passages that reference Islamic architecture. They feature sound tracks and house murals and small sculptures. All tell women’s stories.