The catalogue is published to accompany the artist Manal AlDowayan’s participation in the Saudi National Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition, Venice, 20 April-24 November 2024.
The work, Shifting Sands: a Battle Song, offers a reflection on the evolving role of Saudi women in the public sphere and their ongoing journey to assert their place and reshape the narratives that have historically defined them. In the installation, the public is invited to make their way through a large-scale printed silk labyrinth of petal-like sculptural elements that take their shapes from the desert rose. The surface of these sculptures is screen-printed with texts written about Saudi women, a cacophony of media opinions, which have made a profound impact on the perception of them and obscured their self-representation. Once at the centre of the work, a shift takes place: Saudi women bravely proclaim themselves, launching a battle cry of courage and solidarity.
The artist’s words are precious: “I hope that this artwork will encourage women to look within themselves and rely on their female community, to find their voice and their space within this new chapter of history, much of which is still unwritten.”
The texts are by: Jessica Cerasi, Maya El Khalil, Iwona Blazwick, Ruba Al-Sweel, Camille Morineau, Ghada AlMuhanna and Fawziyya AbuKhalid.
English/Arabic edition. Translation by Moussa El Houchi.
Manal AlDowayan is one of Saudi Arabia’s most significant contemporary artists working internationally. Her work, which spans various mediums including photography, sound, sculpture, and participatory practice, interrogates traditions, collective memories, and the status and representation of women. AlDowayan’s work has been exhibited regionally and internationally in institutions such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, USA (2023); the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada (2023); Los Angeles County Museum of Art, USA (2023); Misk Art Institute, Saudi Arabia (2023, 2022); Setouchi Triennale, Japan (2022); Louvre Abu Dhabi, UAE (2023); Diriyah Biennale, Saudi Arabia (2022); Taehwa River Eco Festival, Korea (2021); Victoria & Albert Museum, UK (2021); British Museum, UK (2021); Desert X AlUla, Saudi Arabia (2020); the Aga Khan Museum, Canada (2018); Institut du monde arabe, France (2017); the Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE (2016); Santander Art Gallery, Spain (2016); Prospect New Orleans, USA (2014); Gwangju Museum of Art, South Korea (2014); and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Qatar (2014), among others. Her works can be found in the collections of the British Museum, UK; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark; the Centre Pompidou, France; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Qatar; and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, USA. She participated in the Robert Rauschenberg Residency, USA (2015), and the artist-in-residence program at the Delfina Foundation, UK (2009). She holds an MA in Contemporary Art Practice in Public Spheres from the Royal College of Art, London. Born in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia in 1973, AlDowayan currently lives and works between London and Dhahran.
