JEDDAH: As part of the Jeddah Sculpture Museum initiative, Art Jameel has, in partnership with the Jeddah municipality, installed artist Maha Mallouh’s sculpture, entitled “Food for Thought” at the Jeddah corniche.

This is the first time a sculpture by a Saudi female artist has been installed in Jeddah.
The Jeddah Sculpture Museum initiative is an ongoing project involving the restoration of a number of sculptures along Jeddah’s Central Corniche. Twenty of the sculptures were placed in the new Jeddah Sculptures Museum, which is located north of Al-Anani Mosque, and was inaugurated in March 2014 by Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah.
Maha Mallouh’s “Food for Thought” sculpture was installed in the middle of the corniche, next to the Al-Anani Mosque. Her work reflects her interest in the impact of globalization on the Arab region, and the shift from the traditionally proud oral culture of the Arabs to an increasingly visual culture. Her “Food for Thought” work attempts to create a platform where both oral and visual culture are brought together and celebrated.
“In my works, I explore our materialistic culture and its relation to national and individual identities. I’m so proud that my work is the first sculpture made by a Saudi artist in my city of birth, Jeddah, as part of Art Jameel’s sculpture project. This project sets an excellent example of modernism in art for the city of Jeddah,” she said.
For the sculpture, aluminum posts are created from pieces used historically as cooking vessels in bedouin tents, Arab homes and restaurants, collected from flea markets around Saudi Arabia.
Capturing this visual history also reflects an oral history, where coming together to cook and share food also brings with it the telling of stories, histories, anecdotes and tales. The pots, therefore, celebrate Arab history and the tradition of Arab hospitality, as they exist as a visual testimony of personal histories.
Dalya Mousa, Art Jameel program manager, said: “We are delighted to see the first sculpture by a Saudi female artist being installed as part of our ambitious sculpture project. The project is a celebration of sculpture, young and old, traditional, modern and conceptual, from around the world. ‘Food for Thought’ will sit proudly on the corniche as a reminder of a rich Arab history and culture and the way it has been, and continues to be, shaped by the modern world.”
The Jeddah Sculpture Museum initiative began in 2011, when Art Jameel and the Jeddah municipality came together to build the Jeddah Sculpture Museum, the first open-air sculpture museum in the city and one of the largest open-air museums in the world, and to restore a number of sculptures originally in place around Jeddah corniche.
The second phase of the project, restoring two of the most famous and historic sculptures in Jeddah, is currently underway. “The Fist” by one of the world’s renowned French artists, César Baldaccini, and “The Verse” by Spanish artist Julio Lafuente. Restoration of “The Verse” is currently ongoing.