The Saudi exhibition, commissioned by Deputy Minister of Culture Abdulaziz Alsebail, presents work by artists Shadia and Raja Alem, two sisters who offer two visions of tradition, memory and contemporary issues: One as a novelist and the other as a visual artist. On Monday it was announced in Dubai that Raja won the Arabic Booker Prize for her novel about the fading traditions of Makkah, entitled “The Dove’s Necklace.”
Curators Mona Kazindar of the Museum of the Institute du Monde Arabe in Paris, and Robin Start, an art adviser who worked with the Alem sisters for months getting ready for the Biennale, which opens in June.
Shadia and Raja grew up in Makkah and studied classical literature, but it is their everyday experiences in this city (that hosts millions of people every year from all over the world) that is dominating their work at the pavilion. Muslim pilgrimage and Saudi traditions are the backdrop of the exhibition, entitled “The Black Arch.”
“I grew up aware of the physical presence of black, all around: The black silhouettes of Saudi women, the black cloth of the Kaaba and the Black Stone,” said Raja.
As such, the color black becomes the main theme of the exhibition itself, and it also works to contrast the other part of the work, a mirror image reflecting the present.
Black also represents the rich life the sisters lead in Makkah; the past full of people, mostly pilgrims, the stories told by grandmothers and the rich traditions of Islam's holiest city.
The mere presence of the Saudi exhibition in Venice represents a journey, and this becomes another theme of the work, which is inspired by great travelers like Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta.
Shadia explains how she felt a desire to follow Marco Polo’s example and, “bring my city of Makkah to Venice through objects brought from there.”
Robin Start, the art adviser, says that the participation of Saudi Arabia in the Venice Biennale is important on so many levels, but insists that it is as “important for Saudi artists themselves.”
Start points out that Saudi Arabian artists have gained considerable confidence in the wake of the rise of the modern and contemporary Khaleej art market.
The artists were chosen after six candidates traveled to Venice to offer their proposals for how to design the pavilion. Shadia and Raja were chosen after their proposals were considered to be the most appropriate for the biennial's theme, which this year is “Illumination”.
“We wanted the artists to engage with this title,” said Start. “‘The Black Arch’ is a journey of imagination and exploration. The principal message of the work is the movement of the mind from the known to the unknown.”
