Wheel Me Out, Dec 2008 | Ananda Pellerin
Wheel met the 'Rock Star' of Saudi Contemporary Art
Tell me about the Edge of Arabia exhibition
When I was in the south region of my country, Saudi Arabia, I met Stephen Stapleton [curator for Edge of Arabia] - that village Abha is full of artists. We were all making things in our workshops and Stephen asked where he could find artists and I said you can find them over here. He stayed with us for two or three weeks - I think this is four years ago. We kept in touch, each year he comes to visit the studios and we decide to make some investment in this relationship between those British guys and us Saudi guys.
We are all artists so we decide to make an exhibition with some conditions that we should put in it the most contemporary artists from Saudi Arabia. It was huge, this is the first time, even in Saudi Arabia, that we do anything like that. So I was shocked, seeing what all the artists are doing. And you have seen there was a lot of people at the opening, I think they got shocked like us.
You weren't showing your work back home?
Some art we weren't showing because they don't want to know something like performance. Maybe they give us artists a little respect when we are doing paintings.
So contemporary art is not very popular in Saudi Arabia?
No way. We are displaying outside the country, like in Dubai, Jordan, Egypt, this is easy for us to display there. But I cannot leave Abha actually because my work depends on what the people are doing daily, what the people are talking about in the streets, their behaviour, their customs, their environment.
That's why usually I do not use a studio, I just sleep there but my work is in the old villages, the streets, where I talk to the people. The street is where you can find the behaviour and the talk of the people. If you want to know something just go to the streets.
Which town is featured in the Manzoa photo series?
This is a small village near to us [Jizan], they are going to remove it, they say it's old, it's going to fall down. But I was asking about the memories of the people there, the old women, how can they tell their children there was a woman living here? So they just remove the walls, the memories and everything that happens there.
They're moving all those people?
And the village is just going to disappear? Destroyed. [Manzoa] that's what's written in red on [the side of the building]. It's written by some employee of the Government or something. It means, 'this building is gone' or 'it has been removed'. So I wrote it on my t-shirt in the same way, so it means I'm gone with it.
And how did you come up with the idea for the Flora and Fauna performance [pictured left and on the cover]?
These trees are called conocarpus erectus, natively from Australia and the roots go horizontal, the trees in my village and my cities, the roots go vertical. So it's killing all the other trees and we ask "why did you bring this tree?" They said "to give you sightseeing and landscaping so the street looks good," but we said "you are destroying the other trees, and you are playing with the ecosystem."
So I covered it in plastic and I go inside the plastic. It looks like something you can buy in the supermarket, you know, a wrapped tree and then there is a person inside. And people will know you are taking the oxygen from that tree, this is very important. Something like that will shock the people and the reactions, that's what I need, your reactions. We're gonna exchange information, exchange something about our future. So after I finish my work I stand near to the people coming over and I say "don't ask me what to do, we have the same problem, I don't know." That's my job, but the answer, I cannot do by myself. The message I did on that day [with the performance] after one week I found people are still talking about it. So the occupation of the art is not only for landscaping, you should think about what you are doing and try to figure what will happen.
Why do you think they've left the trees there?
They are not so professional. All this happened maybe thirty years ago, they weren't so educated those people. Everything is the same until someone shocks everything to wake them up. And they talk to me a lot and I said I'm ready to help, we can search for some trees, we can bring some scientists to help us, ask for volunteers, we can change it.
You use stamps in some of your work, what is that about?
Life is a kind of stamped contract since you're born. You have religion, it's a contract, you have a wife it's a contract, between the countries there is a contract for trading, for tourism. What those people did [9/11 conspirators], not representing me - believe me I'm not with them at all ok? But they destroy me, so we are equal, the people is looking at me like how they are looking at them. The scientists are trying to discover the faster aeroplane in the world so the people will have communications so fast, but when I ask for visa to America I should wait for eight months, so what the hell is that? Just give me my visa in one month it will be enough. The bridges are starting to break or something, the aim of globalisation is nothing. I should wait eight months to get my visa stamped? So if you're going to go America eight times, look how many years you're gonna spend.
Your artist statement just says "i will." Tell me about that.
Exactly, that's what I mean. Like what we are doing now. I will. You came to me, I will talk to you. Leave it to the good time and the right place and I will do it good and well. As perfect as I can.
You do something aside from being an artist. What's your day job?
I'm a major in the Saudi army. I can help the people with my contact. My family is in a good position so i can help, like if they have some papers they need, those things happen they call me up so when they are doing something for me they want to do the best. And I use it for art also, because I'm living with the people and asking...I like it, this is my life. I don't want anybody to tell me "you're an artist," what's this mean to me, I'm an artist? It's nothing, this is my life. Because you can find it in your genes you know, it's a material with knowledge, it's coming to you through those generations to reach you and will disturb you and will not leave you alone. And then it will guide you.
© Wheel Me Out