DENVER: Places of worship fill many roles in society — and an art installation in the shape of a mosque can invoke polarizing reactions in different lands, as Ajlan Gharem has discovered.
On June 19, the Saudi Arabian artist traveled to Canada to present his life-sized conceptual piece “Paradise Has Many Gates” at the Vancouver Biennale. An interactive installation which renders the unmistakable outline of a mosque in a skeleton cage of cold steel, the work will stand at the city’s Vanier Park — a high-profile public space also home to many museums and music festivals — for two years, during which it will host workshops, talks and performances.
“It’s not just something to show — it’s going to be a new space for ideas, for dialogue, for a new kind of conversation,” Gharem told Arab News.
It is a significant platform for a Saudi artist to exhibit at the noted open-air sculpture and performance festival, which has previously commissioned large-scale public works from Chinese A-lister Ai Weiwei, and this year will welcome Yoko Ono to accept its Distinguished Artist Award.
And it will hopefully offer a happier chapter in the work’s stormy story. “Paradise Has Many Gates” has, in the past, been suddenly pulled from two public appearances, and sparked a violent, viral, social-media debate.
Probing issues of religious orthodoxy, education and Islamophobia, the wall-less structure presents a paradoxical sanctuary. A comfy traditional rug lines the floor, yet there is threatening intent to the glaring fluorescent lights that switch on at sundown. The structure is made from the severe steel fencing normally reserved for cages and border disputes — attracting comparisons to both US military prison compound Guantanamo Bay and the fortifications used to stem the flow of refugees into Europe. The dual imagery perhaps shouts loudest at the five times of the day when the call to prayers emerges, recorded in voices drawn from a variety of Muslim-majority countries.
The installation is one of the first major works from 32-year-old Gharem — younger brother of leading Saudi conceptual artist Abdulnasser Gharem. Inspiration struck when the artist found himself approaching 30, astride a growing generational divide between the Kingdom’s elders and established traditions, and the swelling ranks of youthful voices — with estimates placing around 70 percent of Saudi Arabia’s population under 30 years of age. His website states: “The mosque is a conduit for the symbolic power wielded by all those above the unwitting individual… The mosque is the public square reincarnate but with attendance mandatory, at least socially.”
Aware of the charged nature of his subject, Gharem first erected “Paradise Has Many Gates” in the desert, an hour’s drive outside of Riyadh, conceiving the temporary structure as the subject of a four-minute short film to be presented at galleries overseas. He also shot a series of photographs before disassembling his work the following day without attracting attention. However, when he later shared an image of the piece on social media, it ignited a heated reaction he had not anticipated.
“People started saying ‘This is a mosque made of fences. It’s like a cage,’” the artist recalled. “It was posted on everyone’s account, everywhere — when I opened my timeline all I could see were pictures of the mosque with people saying something bad, or something good. That’s why I was afraid.”
That fear led Gharem to pull the photographs from their planned debut at “Ricochet,” a group show at London’s Asia House, in 2015. He eventually “had the courage” to share the images for the first time at a later exhibition, entitled “In Search of Lost Time,” at London’s Brunei Gallery, SOAS, in early 2016.
The structure itself has proved equally divisive. Later that same year, “Paradise Has Many Gates” was erected in the parking lot of Houston’s Station Museum of Contemporary Art; its first physical appearance since its brief stint in the desert. It was part of another group Saudi showcase entitled “Parallel Kingdom,” and was quickly embraced by the community as everything from a place of worship to a quiet yoga spot. After several weeks, it was all set to be packed up and shipped for exhibition in Aspen, Colorado — but organizers mysteriously pulled the plug at the last minute. Gharem’s mosque stayed in Texas all summer.
And in December, the piece’s projected four-month appearance in Bahrain was cut short after just 24 hours, when people began to use the installation as an actual mosque, and prayed inside.
Such setbacks, Gharem said, only confirmed his belief in the strength of the concept behind “Paradise Has Many Gates.”
“They couldn’t make any reason for why they’re going to take it out — they couldn’t understand… (didn’t) realize what was happening,” he said. “This is good, when you have an idea that brings people together, and you see people you are just afraid of this idea.”
The work’s two-year appearance at Vancouver will undoubtedly raise Gharem’s profile considerably, positioning him at the forefront of the emerging wave of Saudi Arabian artists finding success abroad. However, art is just a part-time calling — Gharem also serves as an elementary school mathematics teacher, a position he is in no hurry to abandon.
“For me the teaching thing is good, it gives me a chance to be among the people, among the society — the revolution is in the kids,” he said. “So, I’m a math teacher by day, and an artist by night.”
Gharem’s first significant solo work was “Mount of Mercy,” an evolving series of heartfelt photographs left by pilgrims visiting the religious site also known as Mount Arafat. Gharem drew from more than 10,000 images he has collected during repeated visits to Makkah over the past six years.
He was encouraged to find his own voice after a decade spent “helping” his famous older brother: Inspired by the lack of institutional support the younger artist encountered, the pair co-founded Gharem Studio, a nourishing, not-for-profit organization offering studio space, training, careers guidance and resources to Riyadh’s growing rank of young artists.
“The scene has really picked up in the last five years,” Gharem said. “Even just three, four years ago, you could only find 10 or 15 artists representing Saudi. Since then everyone has tried to be an artist and gone with the wave. I think now is the time for us, because everything is moving so quickly — at this time we start to see our problems, our issues… Everything is starting to reveal in front of us.
“Now the role of art is to start doing something,” he continued. “It’s the most important time to be an artist.”
Saudi artist Ajlan Gharem gains global recognition for his thought-provoking work
Saudi artist Ajlan Gharem gains global recognition for his thought-provoking work
- Ajlan Gharem traveled to Canada to present his life-sized conceptual piece “Paradise Has Many Gates” at the Vancouver Biennale
- Probing issues of religious orthodoxy, education and Islamophobia, the wall-less structure presents a paradoxical sanctuary
From struggles to innovation: How Saudi calligrapher Abdulaziz Al-Rashedi revolutionized Arabic script
- ‘I feel there is a holy light within the letters,’ says Abdulaziz Al-Rashedi
DUBAI: Saudi calligrapher and arts instructor Abdulaziz Al-Rashedi’s first love was the pen. His fascination with writing began in elementary school in the Eighties in his hometown of Madinah.
Al-Rashedi talks about holding a pen in the same way a musician might discuss holding their instrument. In the eyes of the calligrapher, writing is an artistic act, like a dance, that has its own kind of magic.
“What I loved about the pen was the way the ink was flowing out of it,” he tells Arab News. “The pen led me to my love of writing Arabic calligraphy.”
But there were challenges imposed by the conservative social environment of the Kingdom in the Eighties and Nineties.
“People didn’t regard art as something important. During that time, people thought that art couldn’t generate money. For them, it was a waste of time,” he says. “In such a depressing environment, I was suffering from people’s lack of interest. They were saying that the writing would distract me from my studies. But actually, it encouraged me to study.”
Not everyone disregarded his interest in pursuing calligraphy, however. Al-Rashedi’s late father was always a supporter.
“He was a believer in writing, and conserving it,” Al-Rashedi says. “He thought I was doing something important with my life, even though others thought it wasn’t important. They likened it to making scribbles. I was literally making art on my own. None of my friends shared this interest with me and there were no calligraphy institutes to encourage this talent. The situation was very difficult.”
But in 1993, Al-Rashedi learned there was, in fact, a master Saudi calligrapher living in Madinah: Ahmad Dia. He kindly agreed to teach Al-Rashedi the basics of Arabic calligraphy. And, perhaps just as importantly, to do so in his home, which Al-Rashedi compares to a school and a museum, as well as a meeting place for calligraphers.
“I was young, but he treated me like a man,” the artist recalls. “For us calligraphers, he was like a spiritual father figure, who planted a seed of determination in us. He always encouraged us and never told us off if our writing wasn’t on point.”
Al-Rashedi remained in contact with his tutor until Dia’s death in 2022 during the COVID pandemic. “When he died, it felt as if the light went off,” Al-Rashedi says.
Al-Rashedi also trained himself by copying the work of another important figure: Hashem Al-Baghdadi, the influential Iraqi calligrapher and educator who published books on the rules of Arabic calligraphy. Al-Rashedi describes the pre-social media era as a “truly dark period” when there were no opportunities to host exhibitions or share his work with others.
“People weren’t communicating with each other. It was a period that lacked (opportunity) and even good materials, such as pens and paper,” he recalls.
But with the advent of social media, most notably Facebook, and the opening of a few art galleries, including Jeddah’s Athr Gallery in 2009, things improved drastically. Today, Al-Rashedi is able to share his work on Instagram and other platforms, displaying the skills he has honed over three decades of practice.
Arabic calligraphy is an internationally respected art form that has existed for thousands of years, exercised in Islamic texts and found on monuments around the world. So, what is its long-lasting secret?
“I often ask myself why the curves of Arabic calligraphy have bewitched people for so long, and I believe it inevitably has something to do with its holiness,” he says. “Allah has been an inspiration for calligraphers and their innovation of writing. I feel there is a holy light within the letters of Arabic calligraphy.”
But Al-Rashedi also believes that, for many years, calligraphy has been stuck in a rut, untouched by modern innovation or creativity.
“Many calligraphers have literally said that Arabic calligraphy has reached its end and no one could add anything new to it,” he says. “Such an idea is incorrect.”
Indeed, Al-Rashedi has invented his own form of Arabic calligraphy, which he calls “3punt.” (He says the name refers to the size of the letters, which are written using three different pens.)
“It depends on the idea of lessening the thickness of the letter. Usually, one pen is used in Arabic calligraphy. But I discovered that the original bulkiness of Arabic scripture and the usage of just one pen prevents Arabic calligraphy from having new forms of writing being added to its system.”
Based on a strict set of rules, Al-Rashedi’s 3punt calligraphy contains 55 “subtypes of writing,” he says. It has its own lightness and elegance, with carefully choreographed flowing lines of slender Arabic script.
Ultimately, Al-Rashedi believes that Arabic calligraphy is about connections.
“If we look at Latin or Chinese scripture, on letters like ‘n,’ ‘e,’ or ‘r,’ they are based on separate components. But with Arabic calligraphy, you can connect six or seven letters in one go,” he says. “Without a doubt, Arabic writing — as an art form — is superior to other types of writing.”
US contemporary artist Brendan Murphy discusses his first show in Riyadh
RIYADH: The American contemporary artist Brendan Murphy brought his solo exhibition “Complete Control” to Ahlam Gallery in Riyadh on Nov. 7. The Riyadh show is the conclusion of a global tour that Murphy began in June 2024 at Fineart Oslo.
The show features a number of Murphy’s iconic “Spaceman” sculptures, with a particular focus on his limited-edition collectible series titled “Magication.”
In an interview with Arab News, Murphy said the main goal of his show is to bring people “into the moment.” He also stressed that he felt a “creative cultural resonance” with the Kingdom, where he believes people have shown “an appetite for creative works.”
He said: “I have a lot of stuff I’m working on, but I’m focused on building a foundation in Riyadh right now. This show is not a one-shot deal, I want to be a part of this renaissance (that’s happening in Saudi Arabia) for the next five to 10 years, at least. I want to be a part of it — I want to lead it if I can.”
Murphy’s body of work includes colorful abstract paintings and sculptures of his signature Spacemen, which explore themes of beauty, power, and the human experience.
As a kid, watching astronauts and space shuttle launches played a major role in Murphy’s life and eventually became one of his main artistic inspirations.
“My spacemen have little to do with space travel,” he explained. “They epitomize embracing the unknown — taking that step — more than somebody that literally is flying into darkness.”
Murphy’s Spacemen come in various sizes and forms, including small collectibles and large-scale installations. This versatility allows them to fit into diverse settings, from private collections to public art displays. The sculptures can be found across the world, including a 13-foot Spaceman in Houston’s Minute Maid Park baseball stadium and a 22-foot Spaceman in Oslo.
Murphy hasn’t always been an artist. He was once a professional basketball player in Europe, and then became a Wall Street trader. “I did not make a full pivot into accepting that I was a creative person until I was maybe 29,” he said. Today, he is one of most financially successful contemporary artists in the world.
In 2021, Brendan created his “Boonji Project” — a collection of his artwork as non-fungible tokens — and launched it on the Ethereum blockchain (which uses the cryptocurrency Ether). It became the largest primary NFT sale in history, producing $15.5 million dollars.
His work has proven popular with both serious collectors and celebrities, including the tennis players Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, as well as US business mogul Warren Buffett.
Inspired by artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jackson Pollock — famed for their use of color — Murphy’s art aims to encourage the viewer to tune into their emotions and discover the unknown.
“I love color as a means of communicating a feeling,” Murphy said. “When I make something and I get it right, my work creates energy and that’s pretty cool. Color is the easiest way of creating energy; different colors connect with different feelings.”
Murphy said his practice, by choice, demands that he step out of his comfort zone. He utilizes non-traditional methods and rare materials including chrome and diamonds to create conceptual pieces. He has become famous for his extravagant works of art, including “Frozen with Desire,” a sculpture of an astronaut encrusted with 6,200 diamonds, priced at $25 million.
“As an artist, you have to be uncomfortable all the time,” he said. “Find comfort in what you can control, then break it and go where you have no idea what you’re doing.”
Mark Strong plays ‘interesting version’ of all-powerful ruler in ‘Dune: Prophecy’
JEDDAH: The latest big-budget sci-fi series takes fans back to the familiar universe of Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” but 10,000 years before the events of the recent movies starring Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet.
The HBO Max show “Dune: Prophecy” — streaming in the Middle East on OSN+ — follows the rise of the shadowy Bene Gesserit sisterhood. British actor Mark Strong takes on the role of Emperor Javicco Corrino, a man who has become ruler of the galaxy at a tumultuous time.
No stranger to playing characters in powerful positions — most recently, he portrayed the ruthless mob boss Carmine Falcone in another HBO series, “Penguin” — Strong claims that his Emperor Corrino is a little different to the usual screen versions of such men.
“I’m playing a very interesting version of the guy in charge,” Strong tells Arab News. “So, he is the emperor of the universe, which is a great part to play as an actor, obviously, but what’s fascinating about him is his vulnerability — the fact that he is managing a fragile peace.
“So, the guy isn’t what I normally am asked to play, which is people with power who know what they’re doing. He’s very unsure of himself. He doesn’t feel like he’s inherited the ability of his father, he feels a bit of an imposter. He’s trying to deal with a world that he’s not in control of. And I love that juxtaposition of a man that’s supposed to be in charge and supposed to know what he’s doing, and actually he’s very unsure of himself.”
For Strong, the success of the current “Dune” movie and TV franchise is down to the source material.
“The base of the whole thing is these amazing novels that people adore. They are incredibly complicated — really rich. A lot of what we know as modern science fiction, whether it’s ‘Star Trek’ or ‘Star Wars’ or whatever, they come from those books,” he said.
“It’s a world that you want to try and have a go at, because nobody’s done it before. The series, obviously, is set before the movies and in a very different world. And it’s great to have a go at something that that is as fresh as this.”
Princess Rajwa attends parliament session in Jordan
DUBAI: Saudi-born Jordanian royal Princess Rajwa Al-Hussein attended a ceremony marking the inauguration of the first ordinary session of the 20th Parliament in Amman on Monday, marking her second public appearance since the birth of her first child this summer.
The royal showed off an elegant black ensemble for the occasion, complete with an oversized belt by Dior and pumps by Chloe. The look was finished off with the Goji Mini Bag in Black by Jill Sander.
Princess Rajwa was photographed alongside Queen Rania, who showed off a red look courtesy of Maison Valentino and Altuzarra.
Princess Rajwa made her first public appearance since the birth of Princess Iman bint Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II at a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match in October.
On August 3, 2024, the royal welcomed her first child, Princess Iman, with Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah.
At her birth, Jordan’s King Abdullah posted a tribute to his granddaughter on social media. Translated from Arabic, the post read: "I thank God for giving us our first granddaughter Iman bint Hussein. I congratulate beloved Hussein and Rajwa for their newborn.
“We ask God to raise her well and protect her for her parents. You have lit up our family.”
Princess Rajwa, who celebrated her 30th birthday in April, is the daughter of late Saudi businessman Khalid bin Musaed bin Saif bin Abdulaziz Al-Saif, who died in January this year, and his wife, Azza bint Nayef Abdulaziz Ahmad Al-Sudairi.
Flormar seeks to expand Saudi footprint to meet growing demand in beauty market
DUBAI: Skincare and makeup brand Flormar is planning to triple the number of its stores in Saudi Arabia over the next four to five years to meet the demand of a burgeoning and increasingly competitive market.
Established in Milan, Italy, in the late 1950s, the company is now headquartered in Turkiye. Arab News spoke to CEO Matthieu Gomart about why he is so keen to increase the brand’s presence — currently 25 outlets — in the Kingdom.
“The beauty market in the Middle East — and specifically in Saudi Arabia — is quite dynamic,” he explained. “They have double-digit growth, making it one of our most exciting markets.”
Flormar has undergone something of a transformation in recent years, refining its product lines and formulations to appeal to a broader, more discerning audience.
Gomart said the brand’s approach has evolved to focus “on high-quality makeup at affordable prices” that aligned with skincare and ethical beauty trends.
The company’s clean and vegan products, designed to enhance skin health, have been particularly well-received among Saudi consumers, he added, noting an increasing appetite for natural ingredients and skin-friendly formulations.
It is a trend highlighted by panelists at Riyadh’s Hia Hub beauty conference in October. Industry insiders, such as Chalhoub Group president Patrick Chalhoub, told Arab News the under-30 demographic “use skincare products more frequently and are willing to experiment with innovative products, even with brands that are not necessarily very popular.”
With an entire conference dedicated to growing the Kingdom’s skincare market, it is no wonder Flormar has identified it as a target segment.
Gomart said Saudi consumers were also embracing innovations such as “skinification” — adding skincare benefits to makeup products.
To meet this demand, Flormar is adapting its offerings to include sun protection and hydration in its makeup line.
“Saudis have a strong appetite for those nutrients,” he said.
Flormar’s growth includes partnerships with local retailers, distribution through pharmacy chains, and plans to expand its e-commerce footprint.
“We are happy to be contributing to the rise of self-expression in Saudi Arabia,” Gomart added.
