Rosalux Member Since 2019
Saudi Arabia today is the epitome of a gender-unjust society. The state sanctions discrimination against all genders outside of heteronormative masculinity. Based on my experiences growing up in Hofuf, my work examines the gender and class hierarchies in Saudi culture. In particular, I am intrigued by women's domestic spaces and their clandestine communities as an alternative to the oppressive public gender regime. My childhood memories, Saudi traditions and aesthetics are an endless reservoir of inspiration.
In 1997, I left my home longing for freedom of expression. Soon after, I left a successful career in cardiology to pursue art full time. I earned a Master of Fine Art’s in 2002 and a Master of Art History in 2013. Moving to the US made me newly conscious of my identity. While in Saudi Arabia, I always belonged to the dominant ethnicity, I now became a member of a marginalized minority. With this new orientation, I turned back to my cultural heritage and became fascinated with its aesthetics as much as I was frustrated by its social injustice. I employ the beauty of Islamic art and architecture to portray the un-beautiful social practices in my former home.
