Ten artists from across the Gulf have been nominated for the second Richard Mille Art Prize. The complete list is available here.
The artists’ works are exhibited at Louvre Abu Dhabi until March 19 and the winner will be announced on March 20.
Sidelines, the work Manal AlDowayan chose to exhibit at Louvre Abu Dhabi, was produced in 2017 and originally commissioned by Jeddah-based art initiative 21.39. Woven by Bedouin artisans in Saudi Arabia, it contrasts the unique beauty of their craft with the neglect they suffered as they moved away from their migratory way of life. “Bedouin women were at the center of their communities. They wove the tent, the house, the floor, the walls, then sold and exchanged these products to bring income to the family. But modernity has arrived and there have been huge tectonic changes.
In the work, a large wall of woven fabric hangs from chains that descend from the gallery ceiling. Halfway down the floor, the weave begins to break and disconnect, before splaying downward. “[The weavers] were quite distressed at the idea of destroying the weaving. It’s something we did together. Just to symbolize the disappearance of what it means to be an artisan and where they fit in society.
Manal AlDowayan’s Sidelines 2016
Photo: Augustine Paredes – Seeing things. Courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi. Artwork © the artist
Sidelines is arranged in a spiral and visitors can wander through the center, where they will find themselves surrounded by the thick, woven walls. AlDowayan hopes this will provide a moment of reflection where visitors can engage with the meaning of the work. “A lot of my works are like that. They find the moment when we go from aesthetics and beauty to concept and its harshness.
With a career spanning 20 years, AlDowayan (b. 1973 in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) is one of her native country’s best-known contemporary artists, with works in collections around the world. She worked for oil company Saudi Aramco for ten years, where she joined the company’s art group and curated exhibitions of her work. But when they didn’t allow her to continue her art studies, she left to pursue a career as an artist full-time. She moved to Dubai, which offered a “world stage”, before coming to London to study at the Royal College of Art.
AlDowayan has seen seismic changes in the Gulf art scene and is excited about the museum boom in Saudi Arabia. She has retained some of her most important work for institutions in her home country: “It is very important that my work stays here so that my grandchildren can come and visit me.
