Zamakan, which runs in Dhahran until Sept. 23 at the King Abdul Aziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), showcases the work of 11 Saudi and Saudi-based artists.
“This exhibition features the work of only Saudi and Saudi-based artists,” Laila Al-Faddagh, head of museums at Ithra, told Arab News. “Through these exhibitions and art prizes that we do, we really do try to make ourselves a platform for contemporary arts in Saudi Arabia.”
Zamakan is a fusion of the Arabic words for time (zaman) and space or place (makan).
Each piece of art in Zamakan explores questions around space and time, the future and how space and time influence someone’s outlook.
The artists share a location, but they interpret time and space in their own way.
Some through nature, some through numbers, some through sound waves.Zamakan is part of the Sharqiah Season, which aligns with the goals of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 reform plan to enrich the lives of people in the Kingdom through cultural, educational, sports, and entertainment events and programs.
The season featured 83 events across nine cities, attracting 730,000 visitors to events as diverse as a French Montana concert and an air contest.
Maha Malluh (b.1959) lives and works in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Maha Malluh’s work is influenced by her spiritual connection to the historic region of Najd, Saudi Arabia, with its distinctive architecture, strong religious and cultural heritage and colourful patterned textiles In recent year, Malluh has turned to mixed media installations, using found objects that are understood as symbolic of a collective, communal identity; these materials include massive chinco dishes, cassette tapes of religious lectures, discarded oil barrels and metal doors typical of the region. Malluh’s work has been exhibited in the British Museum, Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou and Louvre Abu Dhabi, among other institutions.