Saudi artist Daniah Alsaleh: ‘We can celebrate tradition, but we really need to be open to change’ 

‘Hinat.’ (Supplied) 
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Updated 11 October 2024
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Saudi artist Daniah Alsaleh: ‘We can celebrate tradition, but we really need to be open to change’ 

  • The Saudi artist discusses some of her favorite works and their common themes 

DUBAI: “I call myself a visual artist that focuses on social conditioning and memory.” That’s Saudi artist Daniah Alsaleh’s ‘elevator pitch.’ But, like all such handy soundbites, it fails to convey the complexity and ambition of her layered, multimedia works, which have seen her land several prestigious residencies and awards, including the 2019 Ithra Art Prize. 

For someone whose work has made such an impression on so many, Alsaleh took quite some time to convince herself she was ready to present that work, which at the time was largely influenced by Islamic geometry, to the world.  

“I was interested in art from a young age, but I never really had the opportunity — I went to school and university in Riyadh, where I was born,” Alsaleh tells Arab News. “It was when I moved to Jeddah that I really got into art. I studied at the atelier of Safeya Binzagr, who recently passed away, for probably five, six years. That’s how I really learned the basics of drawing, painting, color theory, shape and form. Then, every time I had the chance to travel abroad, I would take courses in paintings and life drawings. I got hooked on Islamic geometry, and then — after all these years of learning arts, probably around 10 years, I had the confidence to actually finish artworks.” 

Her first show was a group exhibition in 2012. “No one knew who I was, but a lot of the people asked about my work,” she says. In 2013, she joined the roster of artists at Athr Gallery. Now, she says, “it was getting serious,” and she decided to become a full-time artist. In 2014, she moved to London. 

“I decided to apply for a Master’s in Fine Art at Goldsmiths. I didn’t get in but they offered me a place on another program, which was called Computational Arts and that changed my practice completely, 180 degrees,” she says. “This program catered for artists with no background in technology and we were taught how to use physical computing to create installations, and coding as well — like processing and frameworks. I really got hooked. Machine learning resonated with me — we don’t call it AI, we call it machine learning; it’s a program that learns. It changed my practice completely from Islamic geometry to a more contemporary way of expressing myself.  

“I’m not an AI artist. I’m a visual artist,” she continues. “I have machine learning in my toolbox, next to my paints and next to my canvas and next to my videos and next to my audio files and next to my photos. And depending on the context, I just choose which tool I want to use.” 

As suggested by her elevator pitch, that context usually involves exploring our relationship with memory and media.  

“I’m interested in social conditioning in the everyday — things that we take at face value, things that we take for granted,” she says. “These things that we habitually do, where do they come from? And usually I look at media and how that affects us; how it affects our memory, what stays and what gets erased. And how we reprogram our memories, sometimes, just from looking at content on social media. So that’s really what my interest is.” 

Here, Alsaleh talks us through some of her most significant works. 

‘Restitution’ 

This is an example of my older work. It’s from 2017. You see this perfectly organized structure — five panels of hand-drawn Islamic patterns — but then there’s this random brushstroke across them all. That’s my intervention. It’s a commentary on how we are very hooked on celebrating tradition and practices. We can celebrate and appreciate history and tradition, but, at the same time, we really need to be open to change — accepting new things and new ideas. 

‘Sawtam’ 

This artwork — an audio-visual installation — was a big transition for me; a big jump from my paintings. It was created while I was still doing my Master’s, and it’s the piece that won the Ithra Art Prize in 2019. It addresses forms of expression. The visuals were inspired by Manfred Mohr, a German new-media artist who created similar images based on algorithms in the Sixties, and they move or vibrate every time the sound comes out. There were sounds coming from every screen — the pronunciation of the Arabic letters — and when you put them all together in one space, it’s like a cacophony of noise. It’s a commentary on how communication sometimes gets lost, or sometimes gets through. It has a lot of meanings, and it’s very layered, but it’s basically about communication and forms of expression.  

‘That Which Remains’ 

This is a large installation I did for the first edition of the Diriyah Biennale. Again, it’s about memory: collective memory versus individual memory. Collective memory is where we remember things in monuments and celebrations — like National Days. That’s where our collective memory is. But within individual memories, a lot of things get lost, especially when there’s a lot of development and change. So, it’s a — very gentle — commentary about what we’re witnessing and experiencing in Saudi Arabia right now: the individual memories of these characters on the cylinders, which are the buildings and the houses and the structures that are being developed and changed.  

The faces on the cylinders are machine-generated. They’re deep fakes. I collected my own data sets of faces, and then trained the machine to learn to create new faces for me. And then I took those new faces and transferred them onto the cylinders. The paintings are inside-out, so when the cylinder is lit, you can see these shadows of these faces. And then people who visit say, ‘Oh, she resembles my aunt, this resembles my uncle’ and so on. They might resemble them, because they have Saudi or Gulf aesthetics, and the machine learns what you focus on. So if my data set focuses on a certain aesthetic, that’s what it creates. But these people never existed. 

‘Evanesce’ 

This was actually based on my degree show at university. I have two identities: The Western identity and the Gulf identity. And whenever I’m in the West, the news is so different from the news you see in the Middle East. Like, since the Iraq War, all the images you see about Iraq are destruction and war and poverty and craziness and explosions and guns. But what I know about Iraq is culture and arts and literature and science. So for my degree show I collected all these images, Iraqi images, from the 40s, 50s and 60s, for the machine-learning program and created these new images with, like old photo aesthetics. But they’re all deep fakes. And “Evanesce” is a continuation of this research, but focused on the Golden Age of Egyptian cinema. I watched a lot of Egyptian movies, and I collected 15 tropes that are repeated in most of them — the extravagant stairways, the cars, answering the old classical telephone, the belly dancer, the family gathering over breakfast, the chaos in the morning, the protagonists and their friends, the embrace and the romance, the palm trees and the close up of certain buildings. I created data sets based on each trope, and then each data set was trained on a machine-learning program. So then I had 15 outputs of this machine learning based on these tropes, which I stitched together to create this 10-minute film. And this morphing from one image to the other that you see in the video just resembles how we remember things. Again, it’s a commentary about social conditioning. These movies are so prevalent and so important in the MENA region within conservative societies, but the images on screen really contradicted their culture and their values. So it’s a commentary on how, as a society, we watch these things that really contradict our belief system and tradition. But there’s some sort of… it’s similar to obsession. These movie stars and these movies were an obsession to a lot of people within conservative countries. It’s instilled in the collective memory and still resonates to this day. These movies spread from North Africa to the Middle East, to lots of regions where there are a lot of conservatives. So there’s a lot of tension and contradiction between these two worlds. 

‘Hinat’ 

This is an important piece for me. It was created during a residency I had in AlUla in 2022. It’s based on this Nabatean woman — Hinat — who has a tomb in (Hegra). That was very inspiring to me. Obviously, she was from a very prominent family, because she was wealthy enough to have a tomb for herself, and it was under her name. This installation is made up of collages of different views of AlUla and I cut out rectangles on each canvas, and I projected videos into the rectangles. These videos are inspired by Hinat, imagining her future generations, from her bloodline, living in AlUla and roaming around across these landscapes. And the videos were created by machine learning. I hired three ladies from AlUla. We went to different locations and got them to wear these different colorful fabrics. The we shot videos and created data sets from each video, and then trained the program, and it created these very ghostly, abstract figures that move across these landscapes. 

‘E Proxy’ 

This was part of a solo show I did in 2023. It’s a video in which a face morphs into an emoji and then morphs back into a face. It’s a commentary about the ubiquity of emojis and the way we express ourselves in emoticons and pictograms. It’s interesting to me and it’s important. You can’t express our range of emotions in, like, 10 or 20 smileys. It’s just so restrictive. So, what’s happening there? I’m not giving an answer, but I’m opening up a space for questioning ourselves. And, listen, I’m a big advocate of emojis — they help me save time. But I’m asking what is happening here: Is it conditioning us into being less expressive? Or are we conditioning it to be a tool to help us express ourselves? There is this duality. I mean, there’s no correct point of view; it’s very subjective. But it’s always worth raising these questions. 

‘The Gathering’ 

This was the result of another residency I did, supported by the French Embassy in Saudi Arabia, with Catherine Gfeller, a French-Swiss artist. We wanted to know who are the females that are living in Riyadh — not necessarily Saudis — as it goes through this explosion of art and culture and infrastructure. I was born and raised in Riyadh — I live in Jeddah now, but I know Riyadh very well, and I’ve seen the changes. And I’m just in awe and disbelief at what I’m seeing. So, to cut a long story short, we did an open call, and there were 37 ladies who participated who came from 11 different countries — different backgrounds, different generations, different professions. We interviewed them and videoed those interviews, and my focus was on the emotional side of things: How do you deal with loneliness in a big city? What does love mean to you? What about resentfulness? How about forgiveness? Then the audio of the interviews kind of fades in and out. I put them all together as though we’re sharing our thoughts and emotions — a female gathering. And the videos were all manipulated by AI as well; it’s a layered effect, and it’s referencing the different aspects of emotion that we go through.  

‘36’ 

This was part of the same project as “The Gathering.” It’s a composite of the faces of all the women who took part, except for one lady who refused to take off her niqab, so I couldn’t include her in this image. I don’t think this was a new idea — I bet it’s been done many times before — but what I wanted was a commentary on… faced with this perception of what Saudi Arabia is and what Riyadh is and who the women there are… actually, it’s a multicultural city with diverse backgrounds. And when you see this image, you don’t know where the ‘person’ comes from, what their ethnic background is, among other things. You can think of many things when you look at that image.  


Effat Film Festival celebrates emerging Saudi filmmakers

Updated 14 April 2025
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Effat Film Festival celebrates emerging Saudi filmmakers

  • More than 2,200 film submissions from 90 countries
  • Dr. Mohamed Ghazala: It’s not about the money; it’s about uplifting filmmakers and nurturing a vibrant community

JEDDAH: The 12th edition of a student film festival celebrating the creativity of up-and-coming Saudi filmmakers is taking place at Effat University in Jeddah.

The Effat International Student Film Festival, which ends on April 15, has attracted more than 2,200 film submissions from 90 countries, as well as entries from 10 Saudi universities.

The competition shortlisted a total of 89 films from 28 countries, with cash prizes totaling more than SR50,000 ($13,333) available to the winners.

This year’s festival, held under the theme “From Dream to Film,” recognizes notable figures in the film industry, including Saudi director Abdullah Al-Muheisen, Saudi actor Hassan Assiri, Saudi director Khalid Al-Harbi, British director Joanna Quinn, and Prof. Ghada Gabara, president of the Egyptian Academy of Arts.

Other honorees hail from Japan, the US, and China.

Dr. Mohamed Ghazala, head of the School of Cinematic Arts and festival director, told of his passion for the event by emphasizing the importance of community and creative storytelling.

He said: “Running a film festival is just like making a film. We’re fueled by passion and the incredible support of our volunteers, contributors, and arts funding.

“It’s not about the money; it’s about uplifting filmmakers and nurturing a vibrant community. While organizing a festival can be challenging, it’s an exciting journey filled with hard work and joy.

“You don’t need a massive budget, endless time, or extensive business expertise to start a small film festival, the audience will find you. What matters most is a genuine love for film, the courage to take risks, and the drive to share meaningful stories.”

Jala Jalal, the leader of the student club at the School of Cinematic Arts, reflected on the significance of the festival for students.

Jalal said: “The showreel is more than just a collection of films, it’s a celebration of our creativity and growth as filmmakers. It’s a reflection of our voices and visions.

“What I love most about this festival is the opportunity it gives us to connect with the film industry, both locally and internationally. Working on the showreel and seeing the final outcome fills us with pride, not just in ourselves, but also in being part of a university that provides us the platform to bring our visions to life.”

The festival’s jury members come from a diverse international background. Friedrich Kluetsch, president of the documentary film jury, told Arab News: “The Saudi submissions were marked by a palpable joy in discovering the filmmakers’ surroundings and their close connection to the protagonists.

“It was evident in the films’ self-reflection, with three of them exploring filmmaking itself, portraying established filmmakers and an abandoned cinema.

“We noticed slight differences between the Saudi and international entries, particularly in the use of commentary or a narrator’s voice, which was more common in the international films and helped express the filmmakers' perspectives.”

Dr. Haifa Jamal Al-Lail, president of Effat University, highlighted the festival’s broader mission to provide a unique platform for Saudi and international film students to showcase their work.

She said: “This festival plays a pivotal role in creating connections between young filmmakers worldwide. It aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, fostering the country’s cultural movement and global presence in the arts.”

Dr. Asmaa Ibrahim, dean of the College of Architecture and Design at Effat University, underscored the growing international recognition of the festival, saying: “The increasing number of applications each year is testament to the festival’s growing status.

“It’s now the largest festival of its kind in the Arab world in terms of both the quality of films and the specialized focus on student filmmakers.”

Alongside film screenings, the festival features a range of seminars and workshops conducted by industry leaders, including representatives from Netflix, Sony, MBC Academy, and Toon Boom Animation.

Notable academic figures, such as professors from the University of Southern California, and the Communication University of China, were also scheduled to contribute lectures and workshops on topics like cinematography, directing, sound production, and film distribution.

An open discussion hosted by media personality Suha Al-Waal with actor and producer Hassan Assiri at Hayy Jameel also took place at the event.

Assiri, who was to be honored for his significant contributions to Saudi drama and production, shared insights into the evolving Saudi film industry, highlighting the growing opportunities for local talent and the increasing global recognition of Saudi productions.


Art Dubai to return for 18th edition with international lineup

Updated 14 April 2025
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Art Dubai to return for 18th edition with international lineup

DUBAI: Art Dubai — which is marking its 18th edition this year — is returning and brings together 120 galleries from across the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Americas in what is expected to be one of the event’s most multicultural programs yet. Taking place from April 18-20, the event will host a calendar of daily talks, book launches, tours and other attractions.

Its diverse program includes Art Dubai Modern, curated this year by Magali Arriola and Nada Shabout, and Art Dubai Digital by Gonzalo Herrero Delicado and Bawwaba — which means “Gateway” — presenting 10 solo presentations by artists from various countries curated by Mirjam Varadinis and focusing on themes of migration, identity and displacement.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The event’s digital section, the first of its kind in an art fair, organized in partnership with Dubai Culture, highlights the rising influence of artificial intelligence and immersive technology in artistic creation. Installations by Hybrid Xperience, Breakfast, and Ouchhh Studio are featured, as well as 22 digital platforms from Dubai and internationally.

Entitled “After the Technological Sublime,” Delicado told Arab News that the theme aimed to provide “an opportunity to rethink what sublime is today: the concept that we have inherited since the 17th century when explorers were going out to explore the world. Now we can contrast that moment with what we are living today in the age of information and social media.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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In light of 30 new participating galleries from around the world, Pablo del Val, the event’s artistic director, said: “The really exciting aspect of this fair is the quality of the artworks.

“I think that this year you can see the maturity of the participants and really understand the vocabularies and the formats and the media that sell well in the city.

“There’s also a lot of color. The works we are showing this year show the state of the world we are living in, from technological change to a desire for escapism.”


Jordan’s Princess Iman joins parents on visit to Bahrain

Updated 14 April 2025
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Jordan’s Princess Iman joins parents on visit to Bahrain

DUBAI: In a significant milestone for the Jordanian royal family, Princess Iman bint Al-Hussein, the eight-month-old daughter of Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah and Princess Rajwa Al-Hussein, embarked on her first official overseas visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Accompanied by her parents, the young princess was received by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa at Al-Sakhir Palace.

For the occasion, Saudi-born Princess Rajwa – known for her elegant fashion choices – opted for a white-and-blue ensemble from London-based fashion label Erdem, including a floral midi pencil skirt and a draped short sleeved top. She completed the look with white lace slingback pumps from Manolo Blahnik and a Jacquemus shoulder bag.

Meanwhile, last month, Crown Prince Hussein took to Instagram to mark Mother’s Day with a heartfelt tribute to his mother, Queen Rania, and Princess Rajwa.

In the first of two images, Queen Rania is holding her granddaughter, Princess Iman, as the crown prince watches on.

In the second image, Princess Rajwa, dressed in a plain white t-shirt, is seen holding her daughter.

“To my beloved mother and my loving wife, your presence fills our lives with joy, and your love is the true meaning of giving. Happy Mother’s Day,” he captioned the post.

The royal couple welcomed their first child on Aug. 3, 2024.


Sir Brian Clarke’s artwork in Bahrain depicts vision of harmony

Updated 14 April 2025
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Sir Brian Clarke’s artwork in Bahrain depicts vision of harmony

MANAMA: Symbolizing hope and beauty, an impressive stained-glass artwork by veteran British artist Sir Brian Clarke has been unveiled at Bahrain International Airport. Brimming with vibrant hues, brought alive by natural light shining through the glass, it is a visual symphony of geometrical details and natural elements, such as jasmine flowers, birds, and dragonflies. The work is called "Concordia" – the notion of living together in peace and harmony.

The work references Islamic geometry, and also features elements of medieval European tapestries and illuminated Christian manuscripts. (Supplied)

"What art does best is it transcends borders, speaks to everyone, brings us all closer together," Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Bahrain's minister of finance, said in the opening remarks at the April 10 unveiling event, attended by dignitaries including Bahrain's prime minister, Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa. "This visionary masterpiece by Sir Brian Clarke shines a light on the Kingdom of Bahrain's longstanding commitment to integrating our culture and heritage into national projects. But 'Concordia' is more than just a work of art. It is a symbol of Bahrain's openness, hospitality and ambition."

The work references Islamic geometry, and also features elements of medieval European tapestries and illuminated Christian manuscripts from the Books of Hours, prayer books from the Middle Ages. The work itself, standing tall at 34 meters in width and 17 meters in height, was an intensive labor of love that took more than two years to design, produce and install. 

The colorful glass of “Concordia” was crafted by a team of artisans in Germany over a period of 40 days. It took 43 days to install the 127 individual panel work at the airport. For Clarke — whose stained-glass pieces can be found in the UK, Spain and Japan, among other places — “Concordia” has a special place in his practice. 

It took 43 days to install the 127 individual panel work at the airport. (Supplied)

“I have always had a dream of making a composition in a building on a great rectangular scale that is like a view through to another world,” he said in a written statement shared after Arab News attended the unveiling event. "It’s something that in some ways unites the two parts of the world, the one that I come from and this region. Everything I have ever learned about stained glass is in some ways expressed in this window. I am very grateful that I am able to share my enthusiasms about paradise with anyone who sees this window.”


Gaza finds mention at politically charged Coachella’s first Saturday

Updated 13 April 2025
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Gaza finds mention at politically charged Coachella’s first Saturday

DUBAI: US politician Bernie Sanders found a moment to mention Gaza as he took to the stage at Coachella music festival on Saturday night in California to introduce US singer-songwriter Clairo.

“Now I’m here to introduce Clairo, not just because they are a great band, not just because Clairo at the age of 13 posted videos on the internet as a singer-songwriter,” said Sanders. “I’m here because Clairo has used her prominence to fight for women’s rights, to try to end the terrible brutal war in Gaza where thousands of women and children are being killed. So, I want to thank Clairo not only for being in a great band, but for the great work she’s doing.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Another political moment arrived on Saturday night, when US rock band Green Day tweaked the lyrics of their track “Jesus of Suburbia” to reflect the ongoing Israeli attacks against Gaza.

While performing the song, lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong sang, “Runnin’ away from pain, like the kids from Palestine / Tales from another broken home.”

The original song lyrics from 2004’s “American Idiot” were, “Runnin’ away from pain when you’ve been victimized.”