JEDDAH: Ahaad Alamoudi is a rising star in the world of Saudi art. Her latest work, Those Who Do Not Know of Falcons Grill Them, is on show now in Jeddah as part of Refusing to Be Still, the fifth edition of 21,39, an annual exhibition at the forefront of the country’s contemporary art scene.
Jeddah-based Alamoudi was born in 1991 to a family of artists.
“My mother is an artist, so I grew up surrounded by art and I realized very early on that I wanted to create art,” she said. “I did my bachelor’s degree in visual communication at Dar Al-Hekma University, here in Jeddah. Then I got my master’s in fine arts from the Royal College of Art in London.”
During her studies, her art began to evolve as she realized she needed to develop a focus in her work.
“In the beginning I just started by constantly producing work but I didn’t see it having any defined links,” said Alamoudi. “If there was a topic that I wanted to address, I would produce an artwork about it. That made me feel like my work wasn’t representing something specific because I use different mediums and talk about different topics. I felt like I didn’t have a defined position as an artist and I needed to grow.
“What was interesting for me is that I was able to refine my practice during my fine art master’s program. I was able to see more clearly the links within my body of work – and now I see my work as a form of anthropology, studying the ethnography and culture of my country and society. My work also helped me identify with my national identity on a more profound level.”
This evolution led her to the current focus of Alamoudi’s work, exploring the links between the ancient and modern.
“I use ethnographic methodologies to study the outlets of internet integration in Saudi Arabia,” she said. “A new global thought is emerging on the internet and is impacting on a culture that is deeply rooted in traditions and customs.
“My main focus is the manifestation of Saudi pop culture on social media, and the generated images that emerge from that space. Funny or dramatic viral videos and songs are not in any way truths about culture but people today have such strong connections to the symbolism within them – and that’s what my work studies.
“I gather and examine mass-media products generated by the Kingdom. These are personal videos that have been altered and stripped of their own form. Through their continued use as viral videos they become artifacts that define current Saudi culture.”
Alamoudi’s work on show at the 21,39 exhibition is a 7-minute presentation incorporating video, sound, sand and organic material. It explores the progression, evolution and speed of change that are part of the process of realizing a new vision for the country and the changing social landscape. She uses images of falcons as a symbolic reference to the co-existence of traditional and modern attitudes.
“Those Who Do Not Know of Falcons Grill Them is a commentary on the constant progressive changes that are occurring around me,” she said. “It’s about the formation and reformation of my country and society.
“I view change as a positive thing but a part of me wants to slow it down and see how communities are affected.”
While she has clearly put a lot of thought and meaning into her work, Alamoudi is reluctant to spell it all out to viewers, instead preferring that they form individual interpretations and find their own meaning.
“To me, the work is more of an emotional experience, so I let it be,” she said. “I let them experience it guided by their own experiences. Whether they love it or hate it, it triggers an emotion in them and that’s what art is for.”
Alamoudi this year started teaching in the Visual Communication faculty at Dar Al-Hekma, the same university from which she graduated.
“I went from being a student in the Visual Communication department to becoming a part of the faculty and it’s a really strange and amazing experience,” she said. “But I still see them as my teachers.
“The most important thing I teach to my students about art is that they have the space to share their ideas and thoughts and that there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Alamoudi would like to see more investment in art education in Saudi Arabia, but points out that this if not the only way for artists to grow and develop.
“I think there’s a necessity and a responsibility on communities and governments to invest in art education,” she said. “That being said, I don’t think that a formal education in art is a prerequisite to becoming an artist – but it does inform the way we reflect on our cultural identity.”
In another sign of her growing reputation, Alamoudi’s work will be on show at the 12th edition of the highly regarded Art Dubai event next month.
“This year will be the first time I get to participate with my artwork in Art Dubai and I’m really proud of that,” she said.
Ultimately, she believes there should be one priority above all when creating art.
“Having fun with the work,” she says. “If I’m not having fun creating then there’s nothing in it for me. I use a lot of comedy in my work as a form of addressing serious topics.”
* 21,39’s Refusing to Be Still exhibition continues until May 5, 2018. Visit www.21-39.com for venues and more details. Art Dubai takes place from March 21 to 24, 2018. Visit www.artdubai.ae.
Ancient and modern attitudes collide in the work of Saudi artist Ahaad Alamoudi
Ancient and modern attitudes collide in the work of Saudi artist Ahaad Alamoudi
Andria Tayeh nominated at Austrian Film Award
DUBAI: Lebanese Jordanian actress Andria Tayeh has been nominated for best supporting actress at the Austrian Film Award for her role in “Mond.”
The ceremony is scheduled to take place from June 12 to June 15.
Tayeh shared the news with her followers on Instagram, thanking her supporters and the awards organization for the recognition.
She is nominated alongside Italian actress Gerti Drassl and Austrian actress Maria Hofstatter.
“Mond” is directed by Austrian filmmaker Kurdwin Ayub. The film follows former martial artist Sarah, who leaves Austria to train three sisters from a wealthy family in the Middle East.
What initially appears to be a dream job soon takes a darker turn: The young women are isolated from the outside world and placed under constant surveillance. They show little interest in sports — raising the question of why Sarah was hired in the first place.
Tayeh plays the role of Nour, one of the three sisters.
The actress, who is also known for her roles in Netflix’s hit series “Al-Rawabi School for Girls,” has had a busy year collaborating with multiple brands and fronting their campaigns.
In February, Giorgio Armani announced her appointment as its new Middle East beauty ambassador.
She took to Instagram to express her excitement: “I am thrilled and honored to embark on this new journey with Armani beauty. This marks a real milestone for me, as the brand embodies values I have always cherished: timeless elegance, dramatic simplicity, and women empowerment.”
That same month, she was named the first Middle Eastern ambassador for French haircare brand Kerastase.
In a promotional clip, she appeared in an all-white studio, answering questions about why she is the ideal Kerastase ambassador. Tayeh spoke in a mix of English, Arabic and French, playfully flipping her hair for the camera as she discussed her dedication to maintaining healthy hair.
In March, she also fronted Armani’s Ramadan campaign, set against the backdrop of a desert landscape.
Draped in a flowing emerald-green abaya, Tayeh was seen in the video applying the Vert Malachite perfume from Armani Prive as the camera captured the details of the fragrance and her attire. The setting featured sand dunes stretching into the horizon.
Labubu mania sweeps the UAE, CEO of The Little Things says
DUBAI: Once just a niche collectible from Asia, Labubus have now become the must-have accessory among youth, influencers and collectors of all ages.
Seen clutched in the hands of BLACKPINK’s Lisa and Rosé, flaunted by Rihanna, and even making cameos in Kim Kardashian’s social media posts, Labubu has found its way into the UAE’s trend-savvy culture.
According to Hassan Tamimi, CEO of The Little Things, the UAE’s official POP MART retailer, the demand for Labubu has reached unprecedented levels.
“Labubu has become more than a collectible here,” Tamimi told Arab News Japan. “It’s a lifestyle statement. We’re seeing people pair them with luxury handbags, sports cars, even use them in wedding shoots.”
But in a region known for its love of luxury and limited-edition goods, the blind box collectible has struck a chord, especially among Gen Z and millennial buyers seeking aesthetic, niche fandom items with resale value.
However, the spike in popularity has brought an unfortunate side effect: a flood of fake Labubu figures infiltrating the UAE market. Counterfeit toys, often dubbed “Lafufu” by collectors, have been circulating online via scam websites and unverified sellers.
“We’ve had several customers walk into our stores with fake Labubus thinking they were real,” Tamimi said. “It’s heartbreaking, especially for those who paid high prices for something inauthentic.”
Tamimi warned buyers to look out for telltale signs: typos on packaging, incorrect paint colors, poor stitching on plushies, or even the wrong number of teeth, authentic Labubu figures always have exactly nine.
To meet the overwhelming demand while keeping things fair, The Little Things has implemented a strict one-piece-per-customer policy. The company has also increased restocking efforts and trained in-store staff to help collectors verify authenticity.
Tamimi also pointed out that Labubu’s appeal lies in the thrill of the hunt.
“The blind box format taps into that collector instinct, there’s excitement, suspense, and FOMO. You never know which figure you’ll get, especially with rarer editions, and that makes each purchase feel like an event,” he told Arab News Japan.
While Labubu has long been a cult favorite in Japan, Tamimi noted that the UAE is quickly becoming a hotspot in its own right. In Dubai and Abu Dhabi especially, Labubu fans are forming communities, trading figures and sharing unboxings and display setups online.
“What’s happening here mirrors what we’ve seen in Tokyo,” he added. “The only difference is access, Japan often gets first dibs on regional exclusives. But that scarcity is part of what makes collecting in the UAE so exciting.”
As for those looking to join the Labubu craze, Tamimi has one piece of advice: stick to official sellers.
“If it’s too cheap or too easy to find online, it’s probably fake. Trust verified stores. The magic of Labubu is in the real thing.”
- This article was first published on Arab News Japan.
Saudi artist Abdullah Al-Othman discusses work exploring linguistic architectural landscapes
DUBAI: In the Bawwaba section of the most recent edition of Art Dubai, Saudi artist Abdullah Al-Othman’s installation “Manifesto: Language & the City II” presented photographs and numerous illuminated signs and symbols in Arabic against two black walls, reflecting the urban signage one may find in Riyadh.
The installation was an evolution of a series that includes 2021’s “Manifesto: the Language and the City,” a multimedia installation exploring the linguistic and architectural landscape of Riyadh for the inaugural Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, which went on to be included in the Lyon Biennale in 2022, and “Fantasy Land,” which Al-Othman created for the Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival in 2021 — a neon wall installation exploring themes of human experience and the shifts between reality and illusion.
“Language & the City II” pulsed with light and color and the expressive characters of the Arabic language made the viewer feel as if they were indeed on a bustling street in the Saudi capital. “Language is akin to history — it’s very deep,” Al-Othman tells Arab News. “Through my research I realized how language is like a brand for a culture — it references history and people. I study the language that we find in cities. The documentation of language affects the architectural style in an urban environment and the relationship between people and their environment.”
“Language & the City II” was made from a variety of materials, predominantly neon signage, lightboxes and wooden advertising signs that were once hung in the streets of Riyadh. Al-Othman’s installation brought them together to create a portrait of the city through its typographic, visual and architectural styles.
Riyadh’s identity, explains Al-Othman, is revealed through the language, style and vibrant colors of these lit symbols, offering a collective memory of a city in the throes of change.
As an artist and a poet, language has always played an important role in Al-Othman’s life. While he began as a writer, he arrived at a point where he could no longer fully express himself with words and turned to art, creating works that incorporate sound, found objects, sculpture, film and performance.
In 2017’s “Suspended Al-Balad,” for the 21,39, contemporary art festival, Al-Othman wrapped an entire building in Jeddah’s historic Al-Balad district, originally used as a shelter for widows and divorced women, with tin foil.
Al Othman’s intuitive approach to art creation leads him to organically move between and incorporate different mediums. Light is a significant element in his work, whether bouncing off tin foil or shining in neon to reflect the everyday urban environment of Riyadh.
“I want to create journeys for people to discover the importance of language,” says Al-Othman. “Language is a deeply important part of being human.”
Today Al-Othman continues to expand his research and art creation. He has recently published a book on his research supported by The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) and the Saudi Cultural Development Fund.
Presently he is creating sculptures out of various Arabic words from made from different materials for his latest project, “Engineering the Incomplete.”
“In my artistic practice, I engage with language as an open field for analysis and reconstruction,” he writes in his statement for the new project. “I begin from moments of absence — from missing letters and fractured words — treating them as signals of the fragility inherent in the symbolic systems we rely on to make sense of the world.
“Failure to achieve perfection becomes an essential part of creation, not a flaw to be corrected,” he continues. “Incompleteness is not simply a void, but an active component that generates new, open-ended meanings. Each missing letter, each visual gap, forms an alternative path of reading and invites the viewer to reshape their relationship with language and the urban environment.”
“Engineering the Incomplete” uses the structure of the letter as an entity capable of both disintegration and destruction and therefore the resulting text as something that is unstable and constantly changing.
“My practice transforms language from a tool of communication into a material and temporal organism caught in the tension between structure and collapse,” Al-Othman adds. “Through material techniques that draw from urban elements and the reconfiguration of textual spaces, my work seeks to highlight the continuous tension between the desire for expression and the inherent limits of linguistic possibilities.”
Al-Othman says that “Engineering the Incomplete” is not an attempt to restore what is lost, but an invitation to read absence, or lacking, as another form of presence and a new beginning.
Incompleteness, he emphasizes, offers “a way to produce new meaning and vision.”
Recipes for success: Chef Vincenzo Palermo offers advice and a spaghetti al pomodoro recipe
DUBAI: Vincenzo Palermo, head pizza chef at TOTO Dubai, has built his career on one belief: “Pizza isn’t just comfort food, it’s a craft.”
Originally from Apulia in southern Italy, Palermo has spent years refining his skills. His journey began early, watching the baking process in his family kitchen as a child. He went on to study at Rome’s API Pizza Academy.
Over the past 14 years, his career has taken him from Italy to Russia, France, the US and now the UAE, with his pizzas earning international recognition and awards along the way — including a historic win as the youngest-ever World Champion of Neapolitan Pizza in 2018.
When you started out, what was the most common mistake you made?
I believed that cooking was just about combining ingredients correctly and adhering strictly to techniques. My focus was on the mechanical aspects of executing everything “correctly,” but I didn’t always bring myself into the dish; that was my biggest mistake.
Coming from a family where food was never just food — it was tradition, emotion, and memory — I learned discipline and focus. Over time, I realized that every dish must tell a story. It could be a childhood memory, a moment of celebration, or simply a feeling you want to share, but if you do not put your heart into it, then no matter how perfect the dish appears, it lacks soul.
The kitchen is not just about skill and technique, it’s a place for passion. Food is a language, and love is the message. That is what I try to pass on now, both to my team and on every plate that leaves the kitchen.
What’s your top tip for amateur chefs?
My journey began in a very humble way. I was just a child when I first stepped into the kitchen, helping my mother, making my first pizzas and simple pastas with curiosity and joy. That passion never left me. So, my top tip is this: Do not underestimate yourself just because you are cooking at home. Get into the flow, cook with heart and love, and do not place limits on what you think is possible. Everything we create in a professional kitchen, even the most refined dishes, can absolutely be recreated at home with the right mindset. Cooking is mostly about emotion, not technique, and that emotion can be felt whether you’re in a Michelin-level kitchen or your own. Believe in your hands, trust your ingredients, and enjoy the process.
What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish?
I’d say flour. The right flour for the right dish is absolutely essential. In Italy, we don’t just say “flour,” we talk about “tipo 00,” “semola rimacinata,” “integrale”… Each type of flour has a specific purpose, and choosing the right one shows respect for the dish and the tradition behind it. Using the right flour is like choosing the right language to express yourself. It’s the base of everything, the foundation. Even for home cooks, this choice can make the difference between something good and something truly authentic.
When you go out to eat, do you find yourself critiquing the food?
As a chef, it is natural to notice the details, but I try to approach it with an open mind.
What’s the most common mistake or issue you find in other restaurants?
A lack of authenticity and a disconnect between the dish and its cultural roots. Authenticity and consistency are key, and when they’re missing, it affects the overall experience.
When you go out to eat, what’s your favorite cuisine or dish to order?
Honestly, I love to try everything. For me, eating out is about enjoying food and learning. Every culture has its own traditions, techniques and flavors, and I want to understand the story behind each dish.
I’m always curious. I taste something new, study it, and then think about how that ingredient or idea could inspire something in my own kitchen. That is how we grow as chefs — by keeping our minds open and constantly learning from others.
What’s your go-to dish if you have to cook something quickly at home?
Without a doubt, it’s spaghetti al pomodoro. What could be more Italian than that? It is full of soul. I love it because it represents everything I believe in: simplicity, quality and passion. When I cook it at home, even if I’m short on time, I give it my full attention, from choosing the best tomatoes and olive oil to making sure the Gragnano pasta is cooked perfectly al dente, which is non-negotiable.
What customer request most annoys you?
Requests that compromise the integrity of a traditional dish can be challenging. While I fully respect dietary restrictions and personal preferences, altering a classic recipe beyond recognition takes away from its authenticity. I believe in educating diners about the origins and significance of each dish to foster greater appreciation and respect.
What’s your favorite dish to cook?
Pizza. It’s more than just my profession, it’s a piece of my heart. I have a vivid memory from my childhood: my mother and sister in our home kitchen, cooking pizza in a pan. Of course, it was not the “right” way by traditional standards — she was not a trained chef, she was a home cook — but, like many Italian mothers, she found her own way to make something special with what she had.
Even if the technique was not perfect, the love and passion she put into it made it unforgettable. Sometimes my sister would join her, and for me, that pan pizza became a symbol of family, comfort and creativity. Pizza means everything to me because of what it represents: love, family and the joy of making something beautiful from the heart.
What’s the most difficult dish for you to get right?
For me, it’s fish. It may seem simple, but it’s not easy to cook perfectly. Fish is delicate. You must respect the texture, the temperature and the timing. One second too much, and it’s dry. One second too little, and it’s raw. I always need to stay focused and keep learning. That challenge is part of what makes it so rewarding when you get it just right.
As a head chef, what are you like? Are you a disciplinarian? Or are you more laidback?
Honestly, I can’t stand chefs who shout. We’ve seen it too many times in movies and on TV: the angry chef screaming, throwing pans, creating fear in the kitchen. Unfortunately, this happens in a lot of kitchens. But this is not leadership. This is not how great food is made. The kitchen is not a battlefield, and the people around me are not soldiers or slaves — they are humans, artists, professionals. As any of my team will tell you, I’m calm; I like to joke, and I create a relaxed environment. That doesn’t mean we’re not serious. When it’s time to push, I push. But we push together — fast, sharp, focused — as a team. Respect is the true foundation of a great kitchen. When people feel valued and inspired, not afraid, they cook with love. And that love is what reaches the plate.
Chef Vincenzo Palermo’s spaghetti al pomodoro recipe
Ingredients:
200 gr spaghetti from gragnano
300 gr San Marzano peeled tomato
Fresh basil
2 cloves of garlic
Salt
Pepper
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
In a pan, gently sauté crushed garlic in olive oil.
Add the tomatoes and let cook for about 10–15 minutes and add salt and pepper.
In a pot, put water and salt and make it boil.
Boil spaghetti until al dente, then transfer it to the sauce with a bit of cooking water.
Toss everything together and finish with fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil.
Serve it with a gentle parmesan cheese on the top.
Buon appetito!
Highlights from Bashir Makhoul’s ‘The Promise’ at Zawyeh Gallery
- Highlights from Bashir Makhoul’s ‘The Promise,’ on show at Zawyeh Gallery, Dubai until June 30
‘Drift’
The Galilee-born British-Palestinian artist’s solo show’s title, according to the gallery, “encapsulates a poetic and ambiguous statement of intent — an assertion that is both an event and a transformation. A promise is made and, inevitably, can be broken.” That is the duality at the heart of Makhoul’s practice, as is the recurring motif of the house.
‘Deep Wounds’
This work is part of a series of painted wooden sculptures, each of which bears a carved hollow scar, disrupting its ‘wholeness.’ “These wounds are marks not just of trauma but also spaces of beginnings, resonating with Edward Said’s notion of origins as an act of cutting open, a rupture that invites multiple directions.”
‘My Olive Tree’
Makhoul has been experimenting with electroplated 3D printing to produce crystalline machine-generated structures that “paradoxically resemble organic formations” such as those seen in this work representing Makhoul’s own tree which stands between two plots of land he does not own.
