I AM: Collection

In my previous artistic work, I have questioned the state of disappearance and active erasing of communities in a historical and current context, which led me to its counterbalance - visibility, in all its variations. I Am explores a gendered history that does not (yet) physically exist because it was discontinued, fractured, or forgotten. In an oil rich region and a country ranked as the highest exporter of crude oil, half of the population is under a serious threat of poverty. This was not always the case.

The fast pace of change brought on by oil-fueled modernity has, in one generation, made these jobs obsolete for women. Bedouins have been urbanized and Nagsh has all but stopped with the death of the last generation of great artisans who led large groups of women painters. Although their communities in the past allowed women and men to be equal earners and financial contributors, today it is the women who live in poverty or have become totally dependent on the earnings of the male members of their families.

I chose to address women’s historical contribution to the development of their society through the stories of the women in these contemporary photographs, a visual response using a participatory art project. I had invited women from my community, who were ignoring the theoretical discussion on their ability to work, and were actually working. The resulting images were designed as a collaboration of ideas and feelings of these women towards the dialogue on their nature and what suits it. The collection of black and white photographs hosts a variety of Saudi Arabian women who perform everyday roles in Saudi society. At the same time, each photograph has a piece of traditional jewelry placed in an obstructive and unnatural way, questioning cultural traditions that prevent Saudi women from expanding their societal roles.

I Am was produced in 2005 when less than 3% of Saudi Arabian women formal employmentwere formally employed. Today that number has risen to 16%. Regardless of the modest rise in numbers, the main challenges have not changed from when I took these photographs. Politicians and religious figures in Saudi Arabia have, for years, hijacked the dialogue on women’s rights. They have turned women’s right to work in a public sphere into an issue that threatens Saudi identity, the structures of family, and the religious principles that underpin Muslim society. Many continue to aggressively speak out against women’s right to leave the home, to work, to mix with men as equals, and to gain financial independence.