Contemporary Art Photography in the Kingdom of

Saudi Arabia, Mirror of a Complex Identity.

Case study through four contemporary Saudi photographers from different

provinces.

This dissertation is the work of 12049708

and has been completed solely in fulfilment
of a dissertation for the MA in Mass
Communications at the London Metropolitan
University.

Word count: 14,385

 The photograph is as much a reflection of the I of
i
the photographer as it is of the eye of the camera
- Graham Clarke

2
Abstract

The aim of this study is to understand how contemporary art photography in

the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia represents the complex national identity using
symbolism as well as direct references to cultural and religious elements and
artefacts.
In order to do so, a combination of qualitative analysis and semiotic is used
to describe and interpret the coded message implemented in the photographs of
the selected artists. With the help of my personal experience in the Saudi
Kingdom between 2008 and 2012, and my personal relations with some artists
there, I will demonstrate how the complex, and sometime troubled, identity of
Saudi Arabians is reflected throughout these works.
Based on this method, the research asserts that the troubles faced by Saudi
citizens regarding self-identity, national identity and the relation to the external
world in building identity is complex and a widely recurring theme in
contemporary art photography.

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1. Table of Contents

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................ 3

1. TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................................... 4

1.1 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ................................................................................................................... 6
1.2 IDEOGRAMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................... 7
1.2.1 IDEOGRAMS ................................................................................................................................................. 7
1.2.2 ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 7

2. ACKNOWLEDGMENT ........................................................................................................................ 8

3. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 10
3.1 RESEARCH QUESTION ..................................................................................................................... 11

4. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................... 12

4.1 THE NOTION OF IDENTITY ............................................................................................................. 12
4.1.1 THEORETICAL CONCEPTS ...................................................................................................................... 12
4.1.2 IMAGINED IDENTITIES ........................................................................................................................... 14
4.2 THE SAUDI IDENTITY ..................................................................................................................... 14
4.2.1 ARAB IDENTITY ....................................................................................................................................... 14
4.2.2 ISLAM ........................................................................................................................................................ 15
4.2.3 ME VERSUS WE: NATIONALITY AND FAMILY ................................................................................ 16
4.2.4 CONSUMERISM AS IDENTITY ................................................................................................................. 18
4.2.5 YOUTH IDENTITY: REACTION TO DEVELOPMENT, THE WEST ......................................................... 19
4.3 CONTEMPORARY ART PHOTOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... 21
4.3.1 PHOTOGRAPHY AS AN ART .................................................................................................................... 21
4.3.2 THE NOTION OF ART IN CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY ............................................................. 23
4.3.3 PORTRAIT ................................................................................................................................................. 24
4.3.4 OBJECTS .................................................................................................................................................... 24
4.4 CONTEMPORARY ART PHOTOGRAPHY IN SAUDI ARABIA ............................................................ 25
4.4.1DEVELOPMENT OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE KINGDOM ....................................................................... 25
4.4.2 SAUDI PHOTOGRAPHY TODAY .............................................................................................................. 25
4.4.3 ISLAM AND REPRESENTATION ............................................................................................................. 27

5. METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................................. 28
5.1 QUALITATIVE METHOD AND SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS ........................................................................ 28
5.2 LIMITATIONS .................................................................................................................................. 29

6. DATA ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................................. 30

6.1 AHMED MATTER ............................................................................................................................ 31
6.1.1 IDENTITY THROUGH ISLAM: MAGNETISM ........................................................................................... 32
6.1.2 RURAL IDENTITY, MODERNITY, AND CONSUMERISM: ANTENNA .................................................. 35
6.2 ABDULNASSER GHAREM ................................................................................................................ 39
6.2.1 CONSUMERISM VS RELIGION: THE PATH ............................................................................................ 39
6.2.2 IDENTITY IN PROGRESS: DETOUR ......................................................................................................... 42
6.2.3 RESEMBLANCE AND DIFFERENCE: ROAD TO MAKKAH .................................................................... 45

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 6.3 MANAL AL-DOWAYAN ................................................................................................................... 47
6.3.1 NATURE AND IDENTITY: I AM ........................................................................................................... 48
6.3.2 IDENTITY AND TRADITIONS: THE CHOICE .......................................................................................... 51
6.4 SAEED SALEM ................................................................................................................................. 52
6.4.1 CONSUMERISM AND THE WEST: NEON GODS .................................................................................... 53
6.4.2 TRADITION AND MODERNITY: NEONLAND III ................................................................................... 55

7. CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................... 56
7.1 RECOMMENDATION FOR FURTHER STUDY .................................................................................... 57
7.1.1 YOUTUBE OR THE CINEMA OF ARABIA ............................................................................................... 57
7.1.2 WADJDA: THE PRELUDE OF THE MOTION PICTURE IN THE KINGDOM ........................................... 58

8. REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................... 59
8.1 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................... 59
8.2 NOTES ............................................................................................................................................. 63

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1.1 List of Illustrations

And We Had No Shared Dreams, Manal Al-Dowayan; 2011 2
2.1 Saudi Arabia Map; Edge of Arabia; 2010 8
4.1 60 Years of Progress without Change; The Times; 1992 19
4.2 Photography Prohibited; Moe Kahtan; 2013 26
6.1 Ahmed Mater; Edge of Arabia; 2010 30
6.2 Magnetism III; Ahmed Mater; 2012 31
6.3 Magnetism II; Ahmed Mater; 2012 32
6.4 Antenna; Ahmed Mater; 2010 34
6.5 Antenna (prototype); Ahmed Mater; 2010 35
6.6 Abdulnasser Gharem; Edge of Arabia; 2009 38
6.7 Al Siraat (The Path); Abdulnasser Gharem; 2007 39
6.8 Al Siraat (The Path); Abdulnasser Gharem; 2007 39
6.9 Detour (Original photograph); Abdulnasser Gharem; 2009 41
6.10 Detour (Lightbox); Abdulnasser Gharem; 2009 42
6.11 Detour; Abdulnasser Gharem; 2009 42
6.12 Road to Makkah; Abdulnasser Gharem; 2011 44
6.13 Road to Makkah; Abdulnasser Gharem; 2011 44
6.14 Manal Al-Dowayan; Camille Zakharia; 2011 46
6.15 I am (Series), Manal Al-Dowayan; 2005-2007 47
6.16 I am a Saudi Citizen; Manal Al-Dowayan; 2005-2007 48
6.17 The Choice; Manal Al-Dowayan; 2011 50
6.18 Saeed Salem; Edge of Arabia; 2012 51
6.19 Neon Gods; Saeed Salem; 2012 52
6.20 Neonland III; Saeed Salem; 2013 54

6

1.2 Ideograms and Abbreviations

1.2.1 Ideograms

: alayhi as-salm: Peace Be Upon Him (said by Muslims upon hearing the
name of Islamic prophet)

1.2.2 Abbreviations

KSA: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

GCC: Gulf Country Council

MENA: Middle East and North Africa

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2. Acknowledgment

This research project would not have been possible without the support of
many people. The author wishes to express gratitude to Dr. Mike Chopra-Gant
for his assistance, support and guidance.
Deepest gratitude is also due to Dr. Marion Banks without whose knowledge
and assistance this study would not have been successful.
Special thanks also to all the amazing people that I have met during my stay
in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who inspired me this project and gave me the
strength to pursue it till the end. Specially Ilham, Anas, Moe and Fawaz who
helped me with Arabic translation and amazing moral support.
The author also would like to thanks Elena Scarpa from Edge of Arabia for
her kind advices.

8
Figure 2.1 Saudi Arabia Map, Courtesy of Edge of Arabia (2010)
9
3. Introduction

The name of Saudi Arabia is well known all around the world. Known to be
the worlds largest oil producer, the regions leader in trade and diplomacy, the
heavyweight military of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the homeland of
Sunni Islam; but the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) itself is not really well
known, and often subject to stereotypes. While living in Jeddah between 2008
and 2012, I was often ask fi I ride a camel to go to university, if I dig a hole in the
garden to fill up my car, or worst, if I became a terrorist. The events of September
11 have brought the country to light for providing fifteen of the nineteen suicide
hijackers, exposing their face all over Time Square, their anger, their bitterness,
and their desire to destroy the symbols of capitalism as well as themselves. They
were on average 23 years old.
However, what the world does not know about Saudi Arabia is the
burgeoning cultural wave brought up in the Kingdom by the new generation. The
Saudi society continues to move forward, toward a more modern and
contemporary mode of being, expressed through the work of various artists who
celebrate the positive and liberating side of globalization. But their art also serves
as a paean to a culture highly endangered of losing its identity. Arts in the
Kingdom have developed through music with artist like Qusai and Jeddah
Legendii, contemporary artists, and photographers. Photography is of a particular
importance in Saudi Arabia due to its particular relation to representation in Islam
but also to the exponential interest the population takes in the field. When I
arrived in the Kingdom in 2008, photography was the hobby of a few, but by 2012
it became almost impossible to go out without seeing someone holding a camera,
all his/her senses opened to find the perfect shot. This development has been
made easier through apps like Instagram that enables almost everyone to
simultaneously be the audience and the artist of an interactive gallery.
Art, and photography in particular, is the core mean of expression of the
individual as the central subject thanks to the explosion of figurative
representation through marketing. Saudi photographers are exposing a powerful,

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meaningful and personal portrait of a self in the 21st century Saudi Arabia, a self
sometime whole, sometime under construction, sometime lost. These artists are
questioning the notion and the meaning of Identity in Saudi Arabia but also within
a wider and more global context.
As this year the collective Edge of Arabia is celebrating its tenth anniversary,
that the artists studied are represented throughout the summer at the Venice
Biennale, I though it was the time to look more closely to a rising art scene, to its
new values, messages, codes, rules. This is Saudi Arabia seen by Saudi citizens,
in contrast to the imagery European photographers have brought from the region,
or how their Middle Eastern apprentices have perpetuated this false Aladdin or
a thousand and one Nights idea of the Middle East. The aim of this research is
to show to the world what I found in Saudi Arabia. Truth, hospitality, kindness,
religion, traditions; far from the stereotypes of Sultans having harem, far from the
idea that the oil wealth benefited everyone, far from terrorism. This research will
therefore look at the notion of identity in general before to focus of the notion of
identity in the Arab world and in Saudi Arabia. I will also explain the notion of art
in contemporary photography before to apply the concept to photography in the
Middle East and specially Saudi Arabia. This background will help us understand
how, through medium and content, the four selected photographers (Ahmed
Mater, Abdulnasser Gharem, Manal Al-Dowayan, and Saeed Salem) express the
complex Saudi Identity.
In the pages that follow is what I have found in the land that once gave the
world 15 suicide-hijackers, but today send worldwide dozens of wonderful artist
promoting a rightful religion, peace and identity message to the wider world.

3.1 Research question

Does the Contemporary Art Photography in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
illustrate the multi-faced culture of its people?

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4. Literature review

In order to understand how the recent development of contemporary art

photography in the wahhabist Kingdom of Saudi Arabia express the state of a,
sometime confused, Saudi identity, it is necessary to introduce the notion of
identity and its theoretical concepts. Once the concepts have been defined and
understood, it is worth to deal with Andersons idea of imagined communities
(1983) as it encompass both the notions of nation and religion. With these basic
concepts of identity in mind, it is worth focusing on the Saudi Identity by placing it
in the larger concept of Arab Identity and what is it to be Arab. We cannot study
the Saudi Identity without its relation to Islam. This will help us understand the
building of a Me, a self-identity, in the We of the realm of family and nationality,
as well as the youth identity in reaction to development. As the study will focus on
contemporary art photography, it is essential to define what is it. We will first see
why photography can be defined as an art form and analyse its specific
concepts. We will focus on the notions of portraits, objects, and landscapes as
the chosen artworks focus on these specific concepts. This background will then
enable a better understanding of Saudi contemporary art photography; its origin
in the Kingdom, its relation to Islam and the question of representation in Islam;
and finally, how the collective Edge of Arabia enhanced this development.

4.1 The notion of identity

4.1.1 Theoretical concepts
Buckingham (2008) gave a twofold definition of identity in his book Youth,
Identity, and Digital Media. On the one hand, he associates identity with the
notion of resemblance, identity is about identification with other whom we
assume are similar to us (Buckingham, 2008, p. 1). This mean that we identify to
people we think are similar to us, for example the national identity (that gave birth
to nationality) or the identity of genders, religions, or sexuality. On the other hand,

12
he defines identity as difference, something we uniquely possess: it is what
distinguishes us from other people (Buckingham, 2008, p. 1). In the case of
Saudi Arabia this could be defining the Saudi Identity in its difference to the
Western Identity for example. Thus, identity is established in and by relationship
both of similarity and difference, association and distinction, collectivity and
singularity (Barney, 2004, p. 143). Identity is an abstract and complex concept
from which many questions arise concerning development on a personal level
but also the relation to society. However, Goffman in The Presentation of Self in
Everyday Life (1959) see the world as a theatre arena (p. 246) and states that
we are all, in fact, giving performance, acting. But this so called performance is
built of two levels, the front region where the performance is actually given
(pp.109 110) and the back region where our impression and performance are
built (pp. 109 110). George Herbert Mead defines the human as composed of
three essential characteristics that prove that it is impossible to conceive of a self
arising outside of a social experience (Mead, 1962, p. 140). These
characteristics are that humans 1) consciously adjust their behaviours to the
environment, 2) take advantage of symbols to communicate, 3) are self-
conscious of themselves and the identities they project to others (Cited in
Slattery, 2003, pp. 195 - 196). For Cronk, the construction of a self is not the
product of a inactive reflection of others although it is a product of socio-symbolic
experience (Cronk, 2005). This echoes Mead idea that the self is something
which has a development; it is not initially there, at birth, but arises in the process
of social experience and activity, that is, develop in the given individual as a
result of his relation to that process as a whole and to other individuals within that
process (Mead, 1962, p. 135). Anthony Gidden disagree with this theory, for him
the external environment does not define a person self-identity, it is the individual
that actively forms the self (Gidden, 1991). The most complete definition could be
Anita Woolfolks (2011) as she include most of the abovementioned theories:
Identity refers to the organization of the individual's drives, abilities,
beliefs, and history into a consistent image of self. It involves deliberate

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 choices and decision, particularly about work, values, ideology, and
commitment to people and ideas (Child and Adolescent Development).

4.1.2 Imagined Identities
Benedict Anderson debates on the fact that identites are actually not real but
imagined based on cultural artifacts such as nationalism, nationality or nation-
ness. He agrees that nationality and nationalism are the most universally
legitimate value[s] in the political life of our time (Anderson, 1983, p. 3) but that
these notions have proved notoriously dificult to define, let alone to analyse (p.
3). Seton-Watson agrees that no scientific definition of the nation can be
devised; yet the phenomenom has existed and exists (1977, p. 5). Nonehteless,
Anderson define these notion as imagined because the members of even the
smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even
hear of them (1983, p. 6). He further adds all communities larger than primordial
villages of face-to-face contact (and perhaps even these) are imagined (ibid.). In
Saudi Arabia the notion of nationality is very important, so that in the 1960s the
Kingdom made it almost impossible to obtain the Saudi nationality (Yamani,
2009) in an attempt to limitate the definition of Saudi to the indigenous
inhabitant. Anderson also defines the religious community (p.12) as an imagine
community and take the example of two pelgrims in Mecca that do not speak the
same langyage but can understand each other the sacred language of their
ideograph existing in classical Arabic.

4.2 The Saudi Identity

4.2.1 Arab Identity
The Arab Identity is a concept even more complicated to define. Indeed,
subject to both Western and indigenous definition. According to Isolde Brielmaier
(2004), what it means to be Arab has often been defined in negative terms by

14
non-Arabs (p. 16). Indeed, when asked who are the Arabs? Gibb (1940)
answered all those are Arabs for whom the central fact of history is the mission
of Mohammed and the memory of the Arab Empire, and who cherish the

Arabic tongue and its cultural heritage as their common possession (p. 3). This
definition is largely wrong, as not all Arabs are Muslim for example. This echoes
the idea of Sherifa Zuhur when she says that Arab identity and culture are
frequently reduced to a stereotype (2004, p. 22). The etymology of Arab had two
meaning originally. On the one hand it meant a pastoral tribesman as opposed to
a town dweller (ibid.) and on the other hand one from the Arabian peninsula who
spoke an Arabic dialect (ibid.). We can notice, that the main element of identity
to define Arabs is the Arabic language, which is the youngest from the family of
Semitic languages. The medium of photography eliminate the barrier of language
in the meaning of word, but we will, through the analysis, see how the
iconography of an image can relate to an Arabic code as language. From the
perspective of the Arab themselves, the people of their region are perceived as
strongly differentiated from one another in term of their beliefs and social norms
(Findlay, 1994). Bernard Lewis tells us that the concept of ethnicity to express
identity was unknown to the Arabs:
Descent, language, and habitation were all of secondary importance,
and it is only during the last century that, under European influence, the
concept of the political nation has begun to make headway. For Muslims,
the basic division . . . is that of faith, of membership of his religious
community. (Lewis, 1964, p. 70).

4.2.2 Islam
The population of the Kingdom is largely following a Sunni Islam. The word
Sunni comes from Sunnah, which means a well trodden path (Findlay, 1994, p.
46). The Wahabbism is a puritanical branch of Sunni Islam that has been
promoted through the Kingdom since its unification. The law of the Kingdom is
enforced by the Sharia, but King Ibn Abd-al-Aziz ensured that royal decrees are
possible to allow development (Findlay, 1994). The religion is so important in the

15
Kingdom than, when talking about identities or culture it is impossible to overlook
the matter. In KSA, someone is defined as conservative when he believes that
new activities should be encompassed by existing familial and religious
institutions (Yamani, 2009, p. 130). Tradition in the Kingdom is synonym of
Religion. Conservatives emphasize on the role of the collectivity while liberals
believe in a more individualist perspective (ibid.). We have to bear in mind that
Saudis have come to contact with non-Muslims only since the oil boom, and that
therefore they identified themselves according the difference that separate them
from these non-Muslims (ibid.). With the fast growth the Kingdom went through
since the oil discovery, everything has changed apart for the religion, thus, this is
what the three or four generation that lived in the Kingdom since its unification,
have in common. Yamani reports that when a young man Said (27) from Tabuk
was ask about tradition, quoth he tradition was following the Prophet
Mohammads practices through his authenticated hadith (sayings) (p. 135).
Another answered it is Salafi and pure desert Nejdi culture (p.136). Yamani
explains that the symbolism of Islam combined with the unique heritage of Saudi
Arabia based on the guardianship of Mecca and Medina continue to be central to
the Saudi Identity (p.136). It is usual to notice in Saudi that the notion of nation
and family always come second after religion, or as Yamani puts it Islamic
identity first and then a national identity [] the new generation see religion as
the primary defining factor (p.136).

4.2.3 Me versus We: Nationality and Family

The Saudi society often seems confused between religion and nation,
tradition and modernity. With religion remaining the primal form of community, the
sense of nationality and belonging to the nation became very important. Lewis
informs us that identity based on nation-states is a modern phenomenon in the
East like the West (quoted in Sheehi, 2004, p.7). However, for Mehmet,
Nationalism [] is a view of a world built on ethnicity and territoriality,
ideas incompatible with Islamic universality [] The nation-state seeks to

16
 shift allegiance from God to the state. In return, it promises its citizens the
benefits of socio-economic development in this life. (Mehmet, 1990, p. 1).

In the young nation that is Saudi Arabia, following an unprecedented wealth

growth, citizens, specially the new generation, finds itself in the position of
negotiating their identity in these new and unfamiliar circumstances (Yamani,
2009, p. 130). In his essay Arab Society and Culture, Yamani (2009) studies the
evolution of identity and belonging of the self through three generations. She
emphasize that from the first generation, born before the unification, the identity
was based on the family or the tribe and the belonging was to the regional level.
The second generation, born during the 1950s, grew up in a firmly establish and
institutionalised state, therefore their identity and allegiance was to a Saudi state
and a broader Arab nationalism (p.132). For her, the fact that this generation
started to adopt the national thoub and headdress for the men, and the black
abaya for the women is a sign that marks the emergence of a Saudi identity
(p.132). This echoes the idea of Lewis that national identity inevitably manifests
itself in a logical if not etiological desire for a nation-state (1964, p. 8) and that
the individual conflate the notion of nation-state with the notion of selfhood
(ibid.). The third generation, that Yamani identifies, will be the focus of the
research as all studied artists belong to this generation (born between 1970 to
1984). This generation is expected to follow the tradition that their parent did,
but as a desire for a self-identity emerge, the exposure to the west challenge the
identity of the father figure, who, in the traditional Arab tribe is the authority.
Yamani tells us that identity is key to any individual, allowing one to place
oneself within the family, community, and wider society (p.134), and that this
identity can relate on the family to the tribe, the region, and, more recently, the
city (ibid.). However, she contrasts this notion of national identity since even with
strong attempt from the government to foster Saudi national identity by, as we
saw earlier making nationality almost impossible to acquire, Saudi Arabia is still a
very heterogeneous country (p. 135) and that peoples prime unit of allegiance
(ibid.) is the family.

17
 The Arab identity, including the Saudi Identity, is largely based on tradition.
In her interviews with young Saudis, Yamani asked them what is tradition?
Saad, a teenager from the Hijaz answered tradition is family (p. 135) and Asma
from Jeddah said tradition is the things people always do as their parents and
grandparents (p.135). The nation-state is also important in the Saudi identity
when citizen are abroad, Ayman, another interviewee, said when abroad a
person must preserve his identity by being in touch with the country and heritage
(p.138). However, from my own observation, the Saudi Cultural Mission, present
in major international cities, mainly attract people considered conservative while
the more liberal, when studying abroad, usually choose to stay away from the
Cultural Mission. Yamani concludes that family is the most important unity of
identity [] accompanied by an increasing sense of national belonging. The
Saudi, specially the youth, then, have to face other elements in the process of
building their identity. As technology has gradually penetrated in the Kingdom,
the youth as to react to this fast development that create uncertainties.

4.2.4 Consumerism as Identity

As Erik Erikson puts it:
The conscious feeling of having a personal identity is based of two
simultaneous observations: the immediate perception of ones
selfsameness and continuity in time; and the simultaneous perception of
the fact that others recognize ones sameness and continuity (1980, p. 22).

Consumerism has already been observed by many in the MENA, specially in

Saudi Arabia (Abdu (1992); Zaid and Abu-Elenin(1995)). The oil boom propelled
Saudi Arabia into the consumer Market by exponentially raising the national
income driving to an increase access to imported goodiii; and rising the income of
individuals, giving them the opportunity to consume. This sudden entry in
consumerism did not follow Rostows five stages of economic growthiv, and much
of it is based on an emulation of the West usually seen as superior
technologically (Assad, 2006). Simultaneously, the boom of air-conditioned super

18
market and shopping malls gave more opportunity to individuals for consumption.
The big amount of governmental job created during the oil boom, the rise of a
middle-class with surplus income, and, more importantly, the expansion of the
youth are factors fuelling the importance of consumerism. For example, the rate
of ownership of mobile phone as jumped from 5.89 percent to 67.88 percent from
1990 to 2003 (Assad, 2006, p. 5).
According to Belk (1985) and Zepf (2010) consumerism is port of the identity
because the individual not only buy what he/she needs, but what will bring him
recognition, he pursues his ego project. This symbolic consumption means that
the individual identity becomes more and more indissoluble from consumerism
(Gergen, 1991; White & Hellerich, 1998). For Zepf, consumerism can be used to
defined individual identity as well as social identities (2010). Christa Salamandra
agrees with it, in that she says social identities are increasingly negotiated and
contested through competitive consumption (2009, p. 240).

4.2.5 Youth identity: reaction to development, the West

Saudi Arabia has been online since 1994v with the introduction of Internet. If
the Internet access is heavily regulated with numerous page regarding sexuality,
pornography and human rightvi blocked, its development have been very fast. So
fast that the Kingdom is today the number one viewer on YouTube with 90
millions daily views, it is also number one in the GCC on Twitter (Mohammad,
2013). According to Findlay, change and development in Saudi Arabia and the
Arab world is the result of three main factors: 1) the interest and intervention of
the West in the region; 2) The reaction often resulting from the rejection of values
coming from the West; 3) The self-reflection and interpretation of the Arabs on
their own situation and their potential for development (1994). In 1992, on the
occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Kingdom, The Times detoured an imaged
produced by Saudi Ministry of Information and titled it 60 years of progress
without change (in Findlay, 1994, p. 192).

19
 Figure 4.1: 60 Years of progress without change; The
rd
Times September 23 1992, p27

This shows the contradiction with Findlays ideas as well as other thinkers
like Yamani that both state the Kingdom has changed. First of all, the rapid
urbanisation that occurred during the twentieth century greatly boosted the
population of cities in the Arab world (Findlay, 1994). In this section I will focus on
the youth (born between 1970 to 1984) as the artists studied belong to this
generation. The other reason is that 64% of the 19.4 million citizens are under 30
and the 35 40 represent about 35% (Murphy). A core idea about Saudi youth is
that they want to be heard, they demand the social and political space to express
their hopes and fears (Yamani, 2009, p. 129). At the end of one of his interview,
a young Saudi told Murphy Thank you, you made me feel important (Murphy, p.
5). Brought in a society that tries to produce children that are the exact replica of
their parents, the new generation find itself lost in between tradition and

20
modernity, often as a result to its exposure to the West, through satellite TV or
Internet (Yamani, 2009). Therefore the youth identity is often built according to
their reaction to that Western exposure, whether in acceptance of it or reject.
Indeed, modern life is frequently associated, for good or for ill, with the West in
general and specifically the United States of America (Ibid.; p.129). Murphy tells
us that their sense of tradition remain intact, but it is their relation that tradition
that has changed (pp. 6 7). This pragmatism, says Yamani, is born through
exposure to outside education and travel (2009, p. 130). According to her, the
lack of certainties and economic security as well as a rapid urbanization ha[ve]
created a sense of dislocation (p.134) so that they do not know anymore what
are the basis and where is their identity located. One of the main preoccupations
of the youth is their position, and the position of their country, on the international
scene. Malak, another interview of Yamani said in order to be part of the global
village, we need to become more international (p.135) but then she adds we
need to keep something for ourselves (p.135) which show how younger
generation are always conflicting between international recognition but
simultaneously keeping their national identity. Hamad told Yamani that with
western satellite TV, people have lost their identity (p.137) and throughout the
population it is widely spread that western values threaten Saudi traditions
(p.137). This permanent conflict between tradition and modernity, globalisation
and preserving local identity will clearly be reflected throughout the work of the
artists I will study in the following chapters. Heba Abeed confide to Omar Berrada
during an interview that the next generation will lose themselves in the struggle
beltween globalization and national identity (quoted in Rhizoma, 2013, p.39).

4.3 Contemporary Art Photography

4.3.1 Photography as an Art
The discovery of photography was announced in 1839. Quite optimistically,
many artists held the view that it would keep its place and function primarily as
a factotum to art. But this was both presumptuous and futile.
Aaron Scharfvii

21
 To define photography first, we should probably refer to Roland Barthess
Camera Lucida (1981). From Barthes we learn that photography is
unclassifiable (p.4) and that the photograph is something that reproduce to
infinity something that only happened once; the photograph mechanically
repeats what could never be repeated existentially (p.4). This echoes the
statement of Clarke that the act of taking photograph fixes time, but it also steals
time, establishes a hold on the past in which history is sealed, so to speak, in a
continuous present (Clarke, 1997, pp. 11 - 12). Photography has become so
important that even the great poet Edgar Allan Poe defined it as the most
important, and perhaps the most extraordinary triumph of modern science (in
Clark, 1997, p.15). However, for Susan Bright (2005), photography is constantly
changing and hard to define (p.7). Many people are confused, by its
promiscuous and discursive nature, as to its significance as art. Bright argues
that it is because we see photography everywhere, whether it is in newspaper,
advertising, or art gallery, and even family shots. This is probably what Clarke
meant when he said in a world dominated by visual images the photograph has
became almost invisible (1997, p.11). The various uses of photography stated by
Bright rise the problem of meaning of the photograph, which was also a concern
for Paul Hill (1982) when he said we usually see what we want to and not always
what is actually there. [It has] to do with the context (p.43), indeed seeing a
photography in a gallery or the same photography in a newspaper will have a
totally different meaning. For Elisabeth Couturier (2011), photography opens a
window, a door onto the real (p.24). This means that photography is based on
interpretation and that, therefore, it originate from various factors including our
culture and background (Hill, 1982). Marta Weiss also uses the expression a
window onto the world (Weiss, 2012, p. 9), but for her, a photograph is more of
an object raising questions of religion, migration, conflict or even exile rather than
a representation, and how photographers use the medium and its techniques
can be as important as what they chose to picture (p.9).
Integrity cannot be a characteristic of photography, but it can be a quality
possessed by the photographer (Hill, 1982, p. 43), this statement is a perfect

22
prelude to the ides of Charlotte Cotton (2009) that defines contemporary
photography as evolv[ing] from a strategy or happening orchestrated by the
photographer for the sole purpose of creating an image (p.21). The concept of
creating or orchestrating immediately recalls art practices. Photography, for
Cotton, can be considered an art because the act of artistic creation begins long
before the camera is actually held in position and an image fixed, starting instead
with the planning of the idea (p.21); she even goes further saying that the viewer
does not witness the physical act directly, as one does in performance, being
presented instead with a photographic image as the work of art (p.21). This
shows a contradiction with the way it was in the past when what was commonly
called art was rather the act represented in the photograph (Cotton, 2009).

4.3.2 The Notion of Art in Contemporary Photography

Cotton describes this area of photography as tableau or tableau-vivant
photography (2009, p.49) because it has a pictorial narrative [] concentrated
into a single image (ibid.). For Couturier, the notion of art in contemporary
photography emanate from the fact that it seeks maximum visual impact (2011,
p.12) as well as its breakage of the limits. For example, work of artist like Hannah
Collins is displayed in an unusual scale for a photograph with its 6X18 ft.
Abdulnasser Gharems Road to Mecca also plays with the unusual dimension of
photography. Another innovation of contemporary photography is its volume with,
by example, the light boxes of Jeff Wall or of Abdulnasser Gharem that I will
study later on. Paul Hill, however, considers contemporary photography as
deriving from documentary, and he considers the photographs as a witness. For
him, a photograph gives an apparent accurate representation of something real;
its purpose is to confirm the physical existence of people, objects, places and
events (1982, p. 59) so the photograph, therefore, becomes evidence (ibid.). He
doesnt seem to see the more artistic, somehow poetic, dimension of
contemporary photography of Cotton for who it demonstrates a shared
understanding of how a scene can be choreographed for the viewer so he or she
can recognize that a story is being told (2009, p.49). Contemporary photography

23
can be related to artist in the way that, according to Couturier they are
unconstrained by commercial concerns, they can take the time to polish their
images, setting up scene and creating narrative composition (2011, p.25). This
last statement is specially true in Saudi Arabia where, as art is still very limited,
commercial concerns are of least importance since the artist has to overcome the
conservative reprimand of the society, the censorship and that there are few (or
no) galleries to sell their work.

4.3.3 Portrait
It is important to focus on portrait, as the work of Manal Al-Dowayan, one of
the artists studied in the following chapter, focuses on portrait. Paul Hill (1982)
tells us that as photographs are made by people for people (p.60) it is thus
normal, that the principal subject is also people. The face being the feature that
identifies a person the most, a portrait is then the picture of a facial expression.
American photographer Alfred Strieglitz (1864 1946) however, defines a portrait
as a series of photographs of a person taken at regular intervals between the
cradle and the grave (quoted in Hill, 1982, p.60). Susan Bright (2005) on her side
defines portrait as laden with ambiguity and uncertainty, [] the most complex
area of artistic practice (p.19). But often, she continues, the portrait is used by
artists that strive to explore issues of identity national, personal or sexual
(ibid.). The point on which Bright and Hill agree is that the portrait is a triangular
relationship and exchange between the model, the photographer and the viewer.
The work of Manal breaks the rule as it contradict the idea of Hill that anonymity
is usually the last thing that most people want in portraiture (p.60), yet, as we will
see, all Manals sitters remain anonymous.

4.3.4 Objects
To better understand the work of the photographers studied in the next
chapter, art photography of object is important to understand, especially when it
comes to Gharems Road To Makkah (2011) or Matters Antenna (2010). The
very act of photographing something makes it special and indeed its significance

24
and our understanding of it can change dramatically once it is turner into a
subject (Bright, 2005, p. 107) is probably the most eloquent meaning of object
photography and echoes the idea of Cotton (2009) that photographing an
everyday life object retains the thing-ness (p.115) of the object but alters the
concept of the perception of that same object due to the way it is presented to us.
Cotton and Bright both agree that photographing object raises the position of
things to the extraordinary. It forces us to search for the meaning of the object,
we know it must have one as, if the photographer chose to immortalise it, it must
have an importance.

4.4 Contemporary art photography in Saudi Arabia

4.4.1Development of photography in the Kingdom
Photography is present in the Arab world since its invention in 1839 and
picture of Palestine, Egypt or even Syria were very popular in Europe. However,
these pictures were often taken by European photographers and their picture
echoed the European imagination of life in the Middle East rather than the truth
(Nassar, 2004). It nearly took two decades before local photographers represent
the people of the region and their lifestyle, differentiating themselves from these
European photographers. However, as Nassar says, often, these local were often
the apprentices of European professionals. Isolde Breilmaier, however, defend
that Arabs themselves were taking pictures as early as the late nineteenth
century (Brielmaier, 2004, p. 16). Nassar underlines that the desire for
modernisation paralleled the rising interest locals had in photography.

4.4.2 Saudi Photography today

Events such as 9/11 or what the media call the Arab Spring have pushed
the Middle East, and specially Saudi Arabia, on the front of the international
stage as never before. According to Weiss the same period has seen a dramatic

25
increase in the production, exhibition, criticism and sale of contemporary Middle
Eastern art, of which photography forms a significant part (Weiss, 2012, p. 8).
Indeed, Saudi Arabia art was the focus of an exhibition at the Louvres in 2011,
Saudi photographer are exhibited at the V&A or even the British Museum and
many others throughout Europe. According to Brielmaier, both emerging and
established indigenous photographers continue to push photographic
boundaries (2004, p.16) and she further adds that through their diverse
aesthetic considerations, they explore national and transnational identities,
gender, religion, memory, displacement, and transition (ibid.) which echoes the
theory of Weiss (2012). Contemporary Saudi, and more broadly Arab,
photographers are considered documenters both by Weiss and Brielmaier. Weiss
states that they document people, places and events (2012, p.9) while
Brielmaier say they are necessary documenters of a critical and defining
representation of a multi-faced vision of [Arab] society, culture, and history
(2004, p.16). They both consider the cameras capacity to bear witness (Weiss,
2012, p. 10).
Saudi art hasnt really followed a chronological trajectory; it is rather a
combination of cultural and global shifts occurring in the fast pacing developing
Gulf region (Raza, 2013, p. 12). Most Saudi artists are from the YouTube
generation, and are young and bold in their expressions (ibid.), they are the
testimony of transitions and ruptures that are occurring simultaneously within
both a rural an urban societal and cultural context (ibid.). A recurrent theme in
Saudi contemporary art is communication within people as well as Islam. For
example Batool Alshomranis Athan (call to prayer) (2010) is a perfect example
of blending Islam and Art. The adjective that could define Saudi contemporary
photography the best would probably be, according to Raza, non-linearity. Art
and photography are not very well considered in Saudi Arabia, and artists have to
break these barriers and produce a new vocabulary creating other realities to
remove this status quo. During an interview for BrownBook, Nouf Al-Himiary
confessed that Saudi art is true to our culture, yet [] it manages to be modern
at the same time (reported in Rhizoma, 2013, p.50). And if, as Negar Azimi

26
(2004) says that Saudi photography is people relationship to self-representation
(Azimi, 2004, p. 11) and that photographers use the medium as a space for self-
expression (ibid.) and as an elaborate game of self-construction (ibid.), it is thus
normal that Saudi photographs are non-linear since Saudi are not encourage to
display a sense of individuality (Al-Himiary, 2013).
Saudi photographers also often have to face the famous adage mamnoua al
taswir (photography prohibited) whether for political and security reasons, or for
religious reasons.

Figure 4.2: Photography Prohibited; Courtesy of Moe Kahtan

(2013)

4.4.3 Islam and Representation

It is impossible to study contemporary art photography in Saudi Arabia
without taking in consideration Islam and its position of iconographic
representation. Since the strict Wahhabi and the house of Saud have taken over
Arabia, a conservative form of Islam have been dominating the country and have
greatly influence Muslims settings. According to Sherifa zuhur, the notion of
iconophobia has actually been promoted by contemporary Muslims, sometime
due to their ignorance of their own artistic traditions, other because of the
influence of Wahhabism (2004, p.23). However, for Venetia Porter (2012), the
main fear about figural representation in Islam was that it could result in idolatry
because the artist usurps the creative function of God (p.121) so that all figural
arts have been subject to debate since the very early Islamic times. These
debate re-emerge with contemporary art, and the ambivalence of representation

27
have scared many artists that chose the way of calligraphy to not be subject to
censorship or prosecution (Porter, 2012).
The debate about taking photographs of people have been subject to
debates on its own among scholars, but broadly it is accepted as unlike the
creation of a three-dimensional image of a living being made by hand, which [is]
notionally close therefore to a creation by God, the photographic image [is]
merely a mechanical process (Naef, 2004 in Porter, 2004, p122). Photography
was even compared to a mirrored image by cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi (b. 1926)
saying that the photographer is only capturing the shadow by means known to
experts (ibid.). However Shamai, a Saudi cleric, argued in 1988 that the
photograph should be useful and decent. So when lines of decency appear to be
crossed [] objections are raised (Porter, 2012, p. 122).

5. Methodology
The work on visual content or dimension in the field of media and
communication is still very limited (Deacon, Pickering, Golding , & Murdock ,
2007). In order to undergo my research about contemporary art photography in
Saudi Arabia, I used a qualitative analysis method, mixed; to some extend, to
semiotic analysis. Indeed, the research is widely based on the description and
interpretation of photographs in the context of the contemporary Saudi Kingdom,
enhanced by my own experience living there.

5.1 Qualitative Method and semiotic analysis

For Punch (1998), qualitative research is empirical research where the data
are not in the form of numbers (p. 4). Denzin and Lincoln describe it as a
multimethod in focus, involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its
subject matter (1994, p. 2). I chose this method because it means study[ing]
things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret,
phenomena (ibid.) but specially because it is a subject where I could you my

28
personal experience: qualitative research involves the studied use and collection
of a variety of empirical material case study, personal experience (ibid.).
When it comes to photograph interpretation, qualitative analysis is
particularly adequate since it is grounded in a philosophical position which is
broadly interpretivist in the sense that it is concerned with how the social world
is interpreted (Mason, 1996, p. 2). For Ely et al., qualitative research has the aim
of understanding experience as nearly as possiblr as its participants feel it or live
it (Ely et Al. 1991 in Hugues).

When it comes to semiotic, the main author of reference of course is Rolland

Barthes. His theory allow us to think about an image in term of what idea and
values, the people, the places and object in images stand for (Hansen & Machin,
2013, p. 175) as well as describing the image carefully. Indeed, Barthes identify
two levels of analysis for photographs: what does it denote; or simply what we
wee; and what are its connotations. Connotations are the cultural associations of
elements, features in, or qualities of the image (Barthes, 1957 in Hansen &
Machin, 2013; p. 176).

5.2 Limitations
Even if the combination of qualitative analysis and semiotic is appropriate for
this research, it still has its limitations. For example, as Danzin and Lincoln
(1994) stresses it out, the field studied by qualitative research changes over time
as it is concerned with the study of people in their natural setting. Therefore, the
perspectives and outcomes will vary over time. One of the major criticisms about
the method is linked to the problems of adequate validity or reliability (Hugues).
It is also limited and cannot be replicated nor generalised because of the nature
and origin of the data. Therefore a research is valid only for the time and context
studied. Another major problem for qualitative analysis is the time required to
collect data for example in the case of conducting interviews. The interpretation
process, like it is the case in this research, is also lengthy. Hugues also identifies

29
the problem of the point of view whether it is from the researcher or the
participant, as it might be subject to bias.

6. Data Analysis

In this chapter, I will analyse the work of four Saudi photographers, each
from a different province in order to show how, in their respective way, they all
represent a side of the multi-faced Saudi Identity.
The four of them are represented by the collective Edge of Arabia an
independent art initiative committed to reach new audiences in order to improve
understanding through exhibitions, publications and education programs. The
collective was created in 2003 by the meeting of an Englishman, Stephen
Stapleton, and two Saudi contemporary artists Ahmed Mater and Abdulnasser
Gharem in the art village of Al-Meftaha, part of King Fahd Cultural Centre in
Abha, capital of the Saudi southern province of Aseer, that hosted, at the time, a
group of artist that call themselves Shattah, which means the broken up or the
dismantled. Celebrating this year its tenth anniversary, Edge of Arabia has
organised over eight exhibitions worldwide, released twelve publication translated
in five languages, and work with institutions such as the British Museum and the
Venice Biennale for the second time this summer. It is important to note that even
the names of the exhibitions reflect the work of the artists as well as a component
of the Saudi Identity. Grey Borders/Grey Frontiers in 2010 in Berlin refers to the
blurred border in which the Saudis have to identify themselves, the same year;
Istanbuls exhibition was named Transition, which immediately recalls the state in
which Saudi Identity is currently, as we previously saw. In 2011, the 54th Venice
Biennale hosted The Future of a Promise, which echoes the youth identity
mentioned in the previous chapter. In 2012, two exhibitions took place, Come
Together in London and We Need To Talk in Jeddah, and this year Venice
Biennale hosts Rhizoma, Generation in Waiting.

30
 To further understand how Saudi contemporary art photography represents
the countrys identity, I will focus on four photographers, each from a different
province. Ahmed Mater born in 1979 in Abha in the province of Aseer in souther
KSA; Abdulnasser Gharem born in 1973 in Khamis Mushait in Aseer province but
raised and work in Riyadh, capital city of the Najd province and of the Kingdom;
Manal Al-Dowayan, the only woman studied in this chapter, born in 1973 in
Dharan in the oil rich Eastern province; and Saeed Salem, the youngest of them,
born in 1984 in Jeddah in Mecca province, western KSA.

6.1 Ahmed Matter

Ahmed Mater was born (July 25th, 1979) and
raised in Abha, the capital of the Aseer
province in southern Saudi Arabia. He currently
lives and works in Abha. The fact that he grew
up in a rural environment greatly influenced his
work that remains deeply rooted in his Aseeri
local identity, exploring the narrative but also
the aesthetic of an Islamic culture evolving in
the globalization era. He is a trained GP and
Figure 6.1: Ahmed Mater; Courtesy
of Edge of Arabia (2010) with his status of being one of the most
influential artists of Saudi Arabia, he created a
young artistic collective called Ibn Aseeri (Son of Aseer). He is one of the only
two Saudi artists present in the permanent collection of the British Museum as
wellas the Los Angeles Country Museum. Stephen Stapleton describes his work
as visually rich and conceptually brave (quoted in Hemming, 2010, p. 33). In an
interview with Marta Weiss, Mater admitted his work being influenced by
photographer like Abd al-Ghaffar who, like him, was a doctor; and Ansel Adam
(Mater, Light of the Middle East, 2012).
I will focus on two works from Mater, Magnetism from 2012 representing
identity through Islam, and the parallel between Islam and modernity; and

31
Antenna from 2010 as illustration of the conflict between rural identity and
modernity, and the importance consumerism took in Saudi Arabia.

6.1.1 Identity through Islam: Magnetism

Figrue 6.2: Ahmed Mater; Magnetism III, 2012

32
 Figure 6.3: Ahmed Mater; Magnetism II, 2012

This work is actually the photograph of an installation made by Mater in

2012; the first installation however was made in 2010. As we saw in the previous
chapter, Cotton (2009) and Bright (2005) talked about art photography as being
staged for the sole purpose of photography, and, moreover, as Barthes (1981)
said, photography is a way to make the time stop, to show something that is past
and terminated to an audience that was not originally present. This is what the
series Magnetism does, it testify of a performance Mater did and that not
everyone could see. The installation consists of two magnets in opposition, but
only one is visible on the surface. They both attract and repulse iron filling.
As Weiss (2012) noticed, the first glance at the picture will make us think we
are looking at a photograph of pilgrims circling around the kabah. Even people
who are not Muslim have all seen pictures of the Hajj pilgrimage. So clearly this
picture recalls something familiar. Indeed, the black magnet at the centre is a
simulacrum for the kabah, the house of the One God while the iron filling

33
represent the pilgrims circling around it. The work of Mater feature subtle balance
of forces and interests expressed through the opposition of square and circle,
black and white, and light and darkness which implicitly refers to the harmonious
opposition between attraction and repulsion generated by the magnet, but at the
centre of the search for an identity fitting the group. Ashraf Fayadh (2010) even
sees the representation of a need for security, which a centre provides (p.92).
This illustrates the dilemma of the Saudi identity stuck between a Me and a
We, the individual as part of a group. For Fayadh, Magnetism represents the
fact that individuals are compelled to be part of a larger group turned toward a
centre (ibid.). We previously mentioned that in Saudi Arabia, regional identity
was very strong and different from a region to the other, Islam being the centre
the Kingdom is based on to unify all these regions. Indeed, on the photograph,
the iron filling depict a homogeneous flow like a crowd, where no individual could
be identify, representing unification, union, integration or even acceptance of
each other. It can also illustrate the fact that individuality is not very valued or
even encouraged in the Kingdom, rather, everybody should blend in and stay in
the comfort of conformity; individualism is seen as a threat to the general well
being of the country.
Mecca and the Kabah being the centre to which not only Saudi citizen but all
the Muslims around the world turn toward during the five daily prayers, this also
refers to the position of Saudi Arabia (that becomes Me, as unified by Islam) in
the larger Muslim world (We).
Mater talks himself of his work as express[ing] the feeling of being at the
centre of the Islamic world at this moment in History (2012). The notion of centre
is essential as Saudi Arabia is indeed the centre of the Islamic world as the host
of the two holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina. Mater got the idea of this
photograph while at Al Shamia a mountain in Mecca that for him is a special
place. It is just above the Kabah where you can see what is going on (Mater,
Artificial Light / Desert of Pharan, 2012).
Representing the Kabah is also expressing stability, indeed, the House of
the One God is believe to be the place where God started to create the world,

34
and since built by Abraham, the place have almost remained intact throughout
the centuries. The city of Mecca is being completely renovated, remodelled,
recast, and transformed with entire district being destroyed to enlarge the
mosque, skyscrapers being built, forcing the local people to wonder what is going
to happen, however, the Kabah remains untouched, intact, strong against
modernity, globalization, consumerism. This remove the sense of uncertainty that
Saudi youth is facing, it also could be an illustration of what the time titles 60
years of progress without change (in Findlay, 1994, p. 192).
The magnetism is also an expression of Maters own feelings as he himself
said that when he walks in Mecca these are the same stones over which the
Prophey Muhammad once walked. The citys history and fluidity are magnetic
(Mater, Artificial Light / Desert of Pharan, 2012).

6.1.2 Rural Identity, Modernity, and Consumerism: Antenna

Figure 6.4: Ahmed Mater; Antenna, 2010

35
 Figure 6.5: Ahmed Mater; Antenna (prototype), 2010

This is also the photography of Maters sculptural project. Again,

photography here is chosen to freeze the time and offer the possibility to a wider
audience to see that instant, broaden the horizon for a temporary performance.
Today, three years after Antenna was displayed in Vienna, people can still see it,
while it has been long gone as a performance. Mater chose to be represented
with his giant antenna model because this piece was inspired by a personal story
that can represent any Saudi family living in rural setting, especially in the Aseer
province. This photograph has a direct connection to the past of Mater, and by
extension to the past of all Saudis, recalling the days when satellite TV was
forbidden in the Kingdomviii.
Antenna, according to Mater is the symbol and metaphor for growing up in
Saudi Arabia (Mater, Edge of Arabia, 2010). The story behind it is that Aseer is
near by the border of Yemen and Sudan who, at that time, where more liberal
than the Kingdom, so every child in every home was going on the rooftop of the
traditional family house and outstretch his arms to slowly move the antenna in
search for a signal from Yemen or Sudan in order to see something new, music
36
or poetry, a new way of life. In the living room, the father and brothers of that boy
are shouting at him as soon as a signal appears. This is the story behind this
photograph, this is what Mater recreate posing here in the picture, he was that
boy back in the days, and he still is, he still is ibn Aseeri (the son of Aseer). Mater
confides I catch art from the story of my life. I dont know any other way (Mater,
Edge of Arabia, 2010). This work symbolise the whole Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
now, and even more broadly the whole Arab world; in search of new stories and
voices, maybe a different lifestyle. This story is not without recalling Tariq Sabrys
The Day Moroccan Gave Up Coucous for Satellite TV (2005) where he tells the
story of a man stealing the couscousire (round metallic dish for the preparation
of couscous) of his wife to place it on the roof in order to get hold of European TV
signal. In this essay, Sabry talks about the mental immigration through foreign TV
programs. This could be applied to Maters photograph, indeed, Saudi youth all
dream to go study abroad, specially the USA, through King Abdullahs
scholarship. Those who cannot be granted the privilege, through TV and now
Internet, are mentally migrating.
Here again, like in Magnetism, Mater played with high contrast in term of light
and darkness. The whole background is dark, in the shadow, the sole source of
light reflecting on him being the antenna. This is an allegory to knowledge, and
more specifically knowledge through exposure to media. The darkness
represents Saudi Arabia, conservative, isolated, dark, blinded from seeing (or
seeking) knowledge. The light antenna represents the outside world, shining,
enlightening the individual (who represent the whole Saudi population). The
implicit meaning is that the outside world is more knowledgeable.
But as usual, the work of Mater is more complicated than that, more dual,
more complex and contrasted. The antenna being made of neon lights, Maters
looking at it like absorbed by the light immediately echoes another connotation of
the photograph. It resembles a fly killer lamp. It attracts or even hypnotizes the
mind, but once it touches it, it kills it. Mater here represents a metaphor that
echoes what some of the young Saudis who answered Yamanis interview; the
foreign media (here TV) kill the Saudi Identity, kill the individual identity. This

37
means that all light sources (knowledge from the outside as we said) are not
beneficial. This can illustrate TV as well as Internet, knowledge is good, but the
individual has to be able to select what is good and what is not, what is true and
what is wrong, this is a message from Mater for people to not blindly accept
information without further research. Made in 2010, this photograph could be
illustrated by the YouTube show The Arrival (2009) that have hit Saudi Arabia like
a wave. Remember that worldwide, Saudi Arabia is number one in term of
YouTube viewership with over 9 million videos seen dailyix, The Arrival pretend to
expose all the secret of the Illuminati sect and called the people to boycott
certain product or singers/actors. I was in Saudi Arabia at the time, and myself
watched The Arrival, I have seen so many people becoming obsessed by this
show without even trying to look up the sources or veracity of the facts
presented.
Antenna represents also the difference of lifestyle between villages and the
city; Aseer province is mostly rural, in opposition to metropolis like Jeddah or
Riyadh. The symbol behind the antenna is also the extinction of basic human
communication; television became the mean of communication. To a greater
extend, it also mark the beginning of an era of consumerism, TV itself is
consumed and it is, as we know, a powerful tool for marketing and promoting
products to the general public. This is what Mater says:
My artistic experience was influenced by three main axes. First, the
huge gap between life in a village and life in a city. The extinction of basic
human relations. And the era of consumerism (Mater, Edge of Arabia,
2010)
This illustrate how the Saudi Identity have been transformed following the oil
boom, and how nowadays, people feel the need to belong to the wide
consumerist group to identify themselves as a nation, and within the outside
world.

38
6.2 Abdulnasser Gharem
Abdulnasser Gharem is born in 1973 in Khamis
Mushail (Aseer province) but currently resides
and works in Riyadh, capital city of the Kingdom
and of the Najd province (original province of
the Saud family). His work is greatly influenced
by his career as a major in the Saudi Arabian
Army. He shared a studio with Ahmed Mater
when studying at Al-Miftaha village where they
Figure 6.6: Abdulnasser Gharem, started their strong friendship, and they are the
Courtesy of Edge of Arabia (2009)
only two Saudi artist that have been selected in
the prestigious biennale of Sharjah in 2007. Gharem made history when Christies
in Dubai sold his work Message/Messenger at a record price, setting Gharem the
highest selling living artist from the Gulf. According to Stephen Stapleton (2010),
Gharem represents the past, present and future of Saudi contemporary art
(2010, p. 141). Like Mater, his work heavily represents his origins, geographic
and social context and Ansell Adam is a photographer that influenced him a lot.
He started by watercolour painting, and still does it today to finance his other
creative projects. His view is that an artist should be here to remix and question
social situation, but in any case, for him, an artist is not here to protest. He said: I
have no studio so my studio is wherever I find people. When I see the opportunity
I go (in Stapleton, 2010, p.143).

6.2.1 Consumerism vs Religion: The Path

To understand this photographs, it is necessary to know the background

story of it. In 1982, in the mountain of Khamis Mushait, it had rained much more
than usual; at that time Gharem was nine years old. In the valley, villagers had
heard about the rain and feared flash flood. A new bridge of concret had just
been constructed and they believed it secure to wait for the flood to pass, so they

39
 gathered their possession and livestock and followed the man who told them
about the place. The water was so strong that the bridge collapsed, killing most
of the villagers who had taken refuge there.

Figure 6.7: Abdulnasser Gharem; Al Siraat (The Path), 2007

Figure 6.8: Abdulnasser Gharem; Al Siraat (The Path), 2007

40
 This piece of work took twenty-four men four days and three nights to spray it
all over with a single word Siraat which, in Arabic, means the path or the way.
This is a word with high spiritual connotation, as Muslim around the world say it
in each and every prayer. It refers also to the idea of making the right decision,
choosing the right path in life. It also refers to the bridge in itself, and to the
bridge that every soul will have to pass to reach heaven or fall into hell according
to the Muslim tradition.
Like the work of Mater, this photograph is a lasting artefact of a fleeting
installation (Weiss, 2012, p. 14), a testimony for the people who cannot go to
Saudi Arabia see the real painted bridge. In his interview with Marta Weiss,
Gharem considers the photography as a universal language (2012), however
there is a big contrast between this universal language and the use of Arabic,
which is as far as universal as it can be. However, the concept of following the
right path is the universal message, as it connects people of every faith and
ideology (ibid.).
The work of Ghanem is always heavy in implied meaning and connotation. It
might not be obvious, but this photograph express the state of consumerism
Saudi Arabia is going through since the oil boom. Firstly, at the time, a brand new
road and bridge was, for the rural villagers, something to be proud of, something
to trust, to trust with your own life. Secondly, villagers gathered their belonging to
go on the bridge, adding weight to the structure, helping it to collapse. This is a
highly critical work against consumerism wish, unfortunately, is an important part
of the Saudi Identity.
Gharem talks about the culture of being a sheep (Gharem, 2012), this is
clearly in relation with consumerism, but it goes further. Saudi Identity is based
on imagined communities and individualism is highly discouraged. So people
tend to believe that it is wrong to think for themselves, so, in here, Gharem tries
to revive a more individual expression of culture.
The photograph also works as a reminder for mankind; these villagers put
their fate and faith in the hand of man made concrete and believed a man that

41
told them it was safe. This expression of the duality man versus nature brings to
mind the Muslim Identity of the Saudi citizens. They are Muslim before to be
Saudi therefore they should put their faith in God rather than in a man; meaning,
they should not blindly trust the state, not the outside world.
The meaning of the photograph is expresses through the presence of the
concrete road sprayed with paint, but also through the void left by the part of the
bridge that collapsed. The void as a symbol of the confusion, the emptiness felt
by todays Saudi youth, their fear to find a jobx, to marry xi, to follow tradition but
be part of modernity and so on.
Made in 2007, four years before the Arab Spring, in a contemporary
context, Al Siraat can be interpreted as the desire of a dialogue or a discussion
about democracy and what it means for Arabs, especially Saudis. In 2009 and
again in 2011, the story of Al Siraat was repeating in Jeddah, with two
successive flash floods causing the death of hundreds of people.

6.2.2 Identity in progress: Detour

Figure 6.9: Abdulnasser Gharem; Detour (original photograph), 2009

42
 Figure 6.10: Abdulnasser Gharem; Detour (lightbox), 2009

Figure 6.11: Abdulnasser Gharem; Detour, 2009

Detour (2009) is part of a series called Restored Behaviour. The sign detour
is very common in Saudi Arabia, as many roads are under refection, and that the
money injected by the government into construction has boomed the sector and
new building mushrooms around the major cities and throughout the Kingdom.
The sign inspired Gharem so much, that the original picture (figure 6.9) was
remodeled into a lightbox (figure 6.10) and in a stamp painting (figure 6.11). This
is a very good example of object photography that, as Cotton and Bright put it,
throw the everyday life object in the position of subject. The oil boom has brought

43
so much money to the Kingdom that construction and cities have appeared like
mirage in the middle of the desert, and people have been propelled from a
nomadic Bedouin life, or a sedentary rural one; to a busy and dazzling city life.
Cities like Jeddah never sleep, and every street is lighted up by dozen of
streetlamps. So at first, this is a reminder for the future generation, that all this
hard work is the fruit of sweat and blood of thousands of worker, mostly
immigrants.
First, it is important to note that both English (Detour) and Arabic (Tahwelah)
language are present, which represent the melting pot that Saudi Arabia is
todayxii.
Detour means to take a route to avoid something or to bypass it. Tahwelah in
Arabic has the same meaning but also means a switch. This photograph, thus,
can be regards as the reflection if the Saudi society constantly getting away from
what was the traditional lifestyle regarding faith, community, or even the
language. Even regarding the built environment the Saudi Identity has changed.
When looking at old houses like in the old city centre Al Balad in Jeddah, made
of mud, wood or stone, it is obvious that the building found farther north of
Jeddah, in the business district of Tahlya and all its iron and glass building
covered by giant led screen, it is obvious that the traditional way of construction
is not present anymore. The detour represents the modern obsessions adopted
by, principally, the youth xiii but by the population in general as well; mass
production xiv , consumerism as main mean of self expression, or fast-paced
constructionxv. As the work of an artist, this photograph is here to remind the
Saudi citizen to not detour their identity to the benefit of homogeneous influences
caused by globalization.
Detour (Figure 6.11) is painted on rubber stamps, and at the bottom left of
the word in Arabic (as show in the detailed image), the word Tahwelah is written
in reverse, in the Latin direction (from left to right). This could mean that there is a
chance (small according to the size of the writing) that people will go back to the
main road or the right path to relate to Al Siraat, and gain back their identity.
This also means that like Arabic language (written from right to left) cannot be

44
written in a Western direction, the Saudi identity cannot be bent, or transformed
to fit into these Western standards, but on the contrary, should differentiate itself
to underline its strength. This is a reminder for people not to fall in a mould that
does not fit the local traditions, religion and identity.

6.2.3 Resemblance and Difference: Road To Makkah

Figure 6.12: Abdulanasser Gharem; Road To Makkah, 2011

Figure 6.13: Abdulanasser Gharem; Road To Makkah, 2011

45
 Although this is just a regular road sign for anybody living in Saudi Arabia,
this actually represent the Saudi Identity almost as well as the identity card itself.
This is a sign you will find in every road going into Mecca city, the holiest city of
the Muslim world, the centre point toward which all Muslims turn to pray. This
board is placed before the entrance of the Haram (sanctuary, or Holy site) of
Meccaxvi.
On this piece to with have the duality of English and Arabic (except for the far
left part which means officials only and therefore concern only government
official, native Arabic speakers). This photograph represents the Saudi Identity on
many levels. The language duality embodies the melting pot that Saudi Arabia is
with its citizens and expats, and how native absorb the expats and outside world
culture listening to English music, reading in English, speaking in English.
The obvious part of the Saudi Identity reflected in this photograph is how it is
defined in relation to others. The Muslim Identity of Saudi Arabians is underlined
with the green squarexvii, Islam being what unit the Saudi community, and being
the primary source of belonging, before the regional or national belonging. But
this identity is defined in relation of the non-Muslims, who are not allowed to enter
Mecca. The fact that for non-Muslim is written also in Arabic, proves that the
Saudi Identity is Islamic before being Arabic, signifying that Arabs non-Muslim
should also take the exit, make a detour around Mecca if they want to go further.
The Saudi Identity is also defined in reference to the others by the fact that
the middle and left squares (Muslims only, and the part in Arabic only) are
connected, while the square including non-Muslim is disconnected from them.
This represent how the Saudi national feels toward to outsiders, close enough to
observe (and sometime absorb) their culture, but not together to preserve the
pureness of the Saudi national.
The size of the photograph (82 X 304 cm) is also significant. Although road
sign are generally this size, a photograph in an exhibition is usually much
smaller. But as we saw earlier, Couturier said that oversizing was part of the
liberation, the breakage from borders in contemporary art photography (Talk
About Contemporary Photography, 2011). This piece of work in a gallery (as

46
shown on figure 6.13 reflect both the importance of non-Muslim being denied
entrance to Mecca, giving the impression of a severe punishment pending on
whoever would violate this sign; but also reflect to the feeling people express
when going to Mecca, the grandeur of Al-Masjid Al-Haram (the Sacred Mosque).
Facing this photograph in a gallery makes the viewer feels small and powerless,
directly referring of how Muslim should feel in front of God, fearful and humble.
Through this piece of work, Gharem gives the viewer a glimpse of how it feels to
be Saudi (this kind of road sign being found only in KSA), the viewer can for a
minute feel the Muslim Identity of Saudi citizen running through his/her veins.

6.3 Manal Al-Dowayan

Manal Al-Dowayan is born (1973) and raised in
the city of Khobar, in the Eastern province of
Saudi Arabia, which his, historically, the
province with less traffic, as most of it is the
empty quarter, desert. It is however the heart
of Saudi Oil Company, Khobar being a city
entirely built by Saudi ARAMCO, the biggest oil
company in the world xviii , employing full time
Figure 6.14: Manal Al-Dowayan
(2011) courtesy of Camille Zakharia women since the 1940s (Stapleton, Manal Al-
Dowayan, 2010). She grew up in the camp of
the oil company, where the rules are very different from outsidexix and where a
large community of expatriate lives. She had her first exhibition in London in
2003, followed by another one in 2005 in Saudi Arabia; and she is now in the
permanent collection of the British Museum. She admit having a great sense of
self-censorship, avoiding anything that society would wrongly perceive and would
damage her family reputation, and according to Stapleton (2010), she is a
mixture of Saudi, ex-pat, and eastern province influence (p.124). Her work
target mainly the Saudi audience as it relates to social and physical indigenous
settings, and her work is greatly impregnated of her identity as a Saudi woman.
Her greater influence is the Iranian photographer Shirin Neshat.

47
 6.3.1 Nature and Identity: I am

Figure 6.15: Manal Al-Dowayan; I am, (series) (2005 2007)

I am is a series from Manal Al-Dowayan composed of thirteen portraits of

Saudi Women (thirteen like the number of provinces in the Kingdom), but
although the name is at the first person, the women posing are not the
photographer. From top left to bottom right: I am a Doctor; I am a Petroleum

48
Engineer; I am a Writer; I am a Filmmaker; I am a Scubadiver; I am a Decorator;
I am a UN Officer; I am a Computer Scientist; I am a TV Producer; I am an
Architect; I am a Mother; and I am an Educator.
Each photo of the series represent an attribute of the Saudi Identity however
I will focus on the photograph that climaxes the series, as it obviously is heavily
related to Saudi Identity:

Figure 6.16: Manal Al-Dowayan; I am a Saudi Citizen, (2005 - 2007)

The first thing to mention is that all these portraits adopt the deadpan
aesthetic, which Cotton defines as a cool, detached and keenly sharp type of
photography (2009, p. 81). Deadpan shows an emotional detachment and
command on the part of the photographers (ibid.). It enables us to see far
beyond the usual limitations of individual perceptions. The use of deadpan result

49
in a very sharp and precise description on the subject, even though it seems
neutral.
The series recalls Shirin Neshats Speechless (1996), and was inspired by
the speech King Abdullah AlSaud gave upon taking the throne when he
emphasized on the role of women in building the country, which raised the
question of what will they be able to do, and a debate emanated about women
employment as a threat to Saudi Identity. This is the reply of Manal to this
dialogue, and proves that Saudi Women employmentxx is part of a Saudi Identity.
All women are represented with a veil or a headscarf in a sympathetic
lighting giving a very deep and high tonal contrast resulting in a visual
dissonance. They also all hold objects redolent of traditionally masculine
profession (Stapleton, Manal Al-Dowayan, 2010, p. 124). The dark background
represent the uncertainties women (like youth) are facing. In I am a Saudi Citizen
the darkness occupies more than half of the picture, representing the doubts in
building their identity. The model is looking to the right, which represent looking
forward, looking at the future, but as nothing clear is stated about womens
position within the society and their role in building the national identity, the future
is dark.
Another element of importance within this series, and especially I am a Saudi
Citizen, is that they all heavily wear traditional Bedouin jewellery in a very
obtrusive and unnatural way (Al-Dowayan, 2010). This jewellery represent the
obstacles of tradition that prevent women from expending the importance of their
role in the society, the weight they have to carry and face when they try to
empower themselves.
The hijab (face cover) is made from lace work, therefore is very elaborate
and thin, she can see through. This veil represents the Islamic Identity, as Islam
is not the reason for women oppression. In opposition, the headscarf she wears
is made of a thick and heavy fibre representing the Saudi flag. This implies that,
rather than religion, tradition is impeding woman development. The Saudi flag
features the shahada (declaration of faith and Oneness of God and Muhammad

50
as His messenger), which make it ambiguous and thus, represent the Saudi
Identity half way through religion and tradition.
A last element is important to notice in this series, it is the way women all
wear expertly applied makeup. In a sense, this reflects a masculine perception of
femininity, which, in the patriarchal Saudi culture, is predominant. However,
Manal explains that no Saudi women (all models are Saudi) would accept to look
ugly in a photograph (Al-Dowayan, 2010); which express an aspect of self-
consciousness in relation to the ideal beauty promoted in Western media, thus,
express the consumerism.

6.3.2 Identity and Traditions: The Choice

Figure 6.17: Manal Al-Dowayan; The Choice, (2011)

The conception of The Choice (2011) is really similar to the series I am as

we have the deadpan aesthetic, the black background, the high contrast between

51
the woman and the background, The woman is a Saudi citizen, wearing
headscarf, and is represented beautiful.
However, in its difference, this photograph represents how identity
preservation is linked to tradition through symbols. The traditional jewellery has
been here replace by henna tattoo, also traditional. The first symbol that the
viewer will see, is very familiar, it is the peace symbol. Looking closer, the
symbol is made up from the arm of the model but also from a steering wheel;
thus representing the right to drive for women. The message is that this right
wont be asked by power or violence but through peace.
The fist closed at the end of the arm however, represent the concept of force
and power. It is placed over her mouth, as to keep her silent. The opposition
force/peace represent the traditional vision of a woman in Saudi Arabia. Indeed,
after many years spent there, I noticed than men see the women as reacting with
violence, like hot tempered in term of decision making; but on the other side, a
woman represent the peace and comfort a mother, or a wife would provide, as
well as how reflective they are in giving advices. The relationship male/female is
fully imbued by the Saudi Identity, and both gender, consciously or not,
reproduce the same pattern, including Manal in her work.

6.4 Saeed Salem

Figure 6.18: Saeed Salem (2012)
Courtesy of Edge of Arabia
Saeed Salem, born in 1984 in Jeddah is the
youngest of the artists studied in this research.
Although from Yemeni decent, which, in a
sense, makes him represent the city of
Jeddah, Salem was raised in Saudi and
pursued his studies in advertising in Malaysia.
Salem is not one of the most active members
of Edge of Arabia; he has been present only in
We Need To Talk exhibition in Jeddah last
year, and this year in Rhizoma at the Venice

52
Biennale; but he is one of the few that live entirely of his art since he created his
own studio, 181 degrees, in 2009. His project Neonland comprises a series of
picture representing the cosmopolitan city of Jeddah. Maybe because I lived in
Jeddah, but to me, his photography is a screaming representation of the hijazi
(western Saudi Arabia) identy, and to a further extend the Saudi Identity as a
whole.

6.4.1 Consumerism and the West: Neon Gods

Figure 6.19: Saeed Salem; Neon Gods, 2012

Starting from the title of his photograph, it is clear Saeed Salem want us to
think for ourselves, to react (bearing in mind that his first targeted audience is

53
Saudi Arabians). GodS, in Islam there can be only one God. So from the title the
author warn the Saudi against loosing their Muslim identity. I earlier stated, that
the Saudi community is heavily regionally based, and even though there is the
feeling of belonging to a nation-state, the feeling of belonging to the local
province (inheritance from the tribal days) is stronger; and, therefore, the
strongest union the Kingdom has is through Islam as, wherever in the Kingdom
they are, Saudi Arabians share Islam. But the title hides another connotation,
thus of consumerism. Indeed, Neon Gods is a direct reference to the song Sound
of Silence (1964) by Simon and Garfunkel that says: And the people bowed and
prayed, to the neon god they made (Simon and Garfunkel, 1964) that refers to
advertising The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls (ibid.). It
is interesting to see Salem expose such a critical analysis of advertising knowing
that it was his major at university, and that it is his source of income.
It is not only the title that refers to consumerism; the picture is taken in the
night as we can see from the background, however, the shop is open selling
local goods (Medina mint tea) as well as international goods (cigarettes, plastic
toys, noodles) and people are buying. Moreover, the sole source of light of the
picture is the sops neon lights, as if goods and consumption lights up the night, it
attracts people, in a similar was as did the antenna for Mater, or the fly killer light
does attract the fly. The background is dark and black, in contrast the source of
consumerism is colourful and light which represent the vision Saudi citizen have
on consumerism, and goods coming from the West. In a discussion with
Stapleton, Gharem said that in Saudi Arabia a big car would make its owner gain
respect from its peers; in the same way, it is common in the Saudi youth to own
more than one jawal (mobile phone).
As Salem explains, these neon kiosks symbolise both the old Arabic culture:
a place to meet and talk; as well as something very futuristic. An intense ball of
consumer energy. (Salem, 2012). I demonstrated earlier how Saudi citizens,
specially the youth, are in between tradition and modernity; this photograph is a
perfect illustration of this statement. First of all, the kiosk sells traditional goods
like Medina tea or prayer mats, prayers beads, but also imported goods (product

54
of the globalization) such as noodles, swimming doodles, cigarettes and so on.
Secondly, there is contrast between the man on the foreground, wearing the
traditional thob (long white dress) and shomagh (red and white headcover); while
the teenagers in the background wear jeans and tee-shirts (western modern
cloths). The man selling these goods is clearly not Saudi, representing on the
one hand the fact that one third of the population are expatriates, and, on the
other hand the attitude of Saudis toward such jobsxxi.

6.4.2 Tradition and Modernity: Neonland III

Figure 6.20: Saeed Salem; Neonland III, 2013

The triptych Neonland III, the latest one Saeed Salem did in the series
Neonland is currently exposed at Rhizoma for the Venice Biennale. Unlike
Neon Gods that referred to Islam only in its title, this one clearly represents the
Muslim identity unifying the Kingdom. The reason the artist chose a triptych is to
represent the three different stages Muslims have to do when praying: Qiyam
(standing), Ruku (bowing), and Sujud (prostration). The man prays in the street,
under a concrete umbrella (possible reference to Gharems Al Siraat, seeking
protection in concrete) from which a green light emanates. I previously mentioned
55
that green is the colour symbolizing Islam. In the background we can see a crane
in a construction site. This photograph is like a synopsis of the current Saudi
Identity, linked in Islam but constantly threatened by the constant change
(progress?) that globalization and consumerism era bring along. Nevertheless,
the mans faith does not seem distracted or bothered to be surrounded by noise
and roughness, Saeed Salem represents here the way, the path (al siraat?) that
Saudi Arabians have to follow to save their identity maybe.

7. Conclusion

As the different authors mentioned, the notion of identity is very complex and
include the individuals own experience and development as well as reaction to
the external environment. Anderson (1983) even tells us that identity is imagined,
that we develop the feeling of belonging over assumptions only. For example, I
identify myself as a Muslim even though I will never interact with most of the
other Muslims in the world.
The notion of identity in Saudi Arabia takes a different perspective. Created
in 1932, the Kingdom is barely 81 years old. In its short existence, it has known a
wealth growth like no other country ever knew due to the oil discovery in the
western province. In these conditions, the populations identity has been shaken
up. Identification at the local level of the village, the tribe, and the province have
been propelled by forceful campaigns to the building of a national identity highly
based on nationality and religion. Nationality as an elitist base and source of
pride for the beholder in building his/her ego. Religion as the only constant
element that wasnt shaken up by the oil boom. The family structure also seems
to be a solid base in the identity building of the country. An identity choked
between the heaviness of tradition that the bulldozer of modernity tries to abolish,
an identity based on a desire to belong to the Middle East as well as to escape to
the West.
When it comes to photography as an art, even though it have been subject to
numerous debate by the past, it is now globally accepted that photography is an

56
art form. In Saudi Arabia however, photography has to overcome other
challenges, such as the debate around representation of living things in Islam.
The blur surrounding the answer regarding this problem, allowed the artist we
studied to make strong statement on the Saudi Identity. Each and every
photographs studied reflect one or more aspects of the Saudi Identity and its
evolution and challenges. Deeply rooted in Islam, the Saudi Identity is subject to
influence from its past, tradition, family values, regionalism; but is also is under
great influence of the outside world, mainly the West and its modernity. It is
interesting to notice that the definition of ones self identity if almost always made
according to the opposite group. For example in Road to Makkah we saw that the
identity as Muslim is defined in relation to the Non Muslim group denied access
to Mecca. Antenna from Ahmed Mater defines the village, rural identity in
comparison to the urban identity. Manal Al-Dowayan definition of women identity
is done in relation to the patriarchal society, therefore in relation to men. Lost
midway through tradition and modernity, Islam and Western values, Saudi
Youths challenge will be to define themselves as individuals, finding their place
according to themselves and not to the opposite group. The rising of the
individual in relation to the group is also importantly highlighted in the works of art
studied, in a country where individualism is highly discouraged, the challenges of
the new generation will be more difficult.

7.1 Recommendation for further study

7.1.1 YouTube or the Cinema of Arabia

Saudi Arabia being the first viewership of the world for YouTube, it is a logic
development that many Saudi show have been created. With La Yekthar,
3al6ayer, and the web series Takki being more and more popular, some even
including English subtitles, it would be very interesting to analyse how these
show and series represent the Saudi Identity and address the youth with
contemporary problems happening in their society in a creative and respectful
way so that it bypasses censorship.

57
 7.1.2 Wadjda: the prelude of the motion picture in the Kingdom
With Wadjda (2012) being the first Saudi feature film ever made and with its
director, Haifaa Al-Mansoor, being a Saudi Woman, it would be of great interest if
there is space in the Saudi Society for the development of a Cinema Industry
rooted in the tradition and respectful of Islamic values and audience. Wadjda is
the story of a girl who is striving and fighting all stereotype stating that girls
cannot ride a bicycle. The first analogy made is with the right for women to drive
in Saudi Arabia, but Wadjda is way deeper than that, and is a clear and very
artsy representation of the troubles the Saudi Identity is going through in
establishing itself.

58
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8.2 Notes

i
Graham Clarke, The Photograph; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997, p.135
ii
Jeddah Legends is a Saudi rap group created and led by Qusai, who now follow
a solo career and was one of the judge in last season of Arab Got Talent.
iii
Import of goods and services to Saudi Arabia increased from SR 4.990 billion in
1970 to SR 162.558 billion in 2002. From United Nations Common Database
(UNCD) accessed 2004. http://esa.un.org/unpp/p2k0data.asp in Assad (2006)
Facing the Challenge of Consumerism in Saudi Arabia, p. 4
iv
The five stages are: 1) traditional society; 2) precondition for take off; 3) take
off; 4) drive to maturity; and 5) age of high mass consumption. In W.W. Rostow
(1960), The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto;
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1960), pp. 4-16
v
Only state owned academic, medical and research institution had access, it is
not before 1997 that the public gains access to Internet. Source:
http://www.internetworldstats.com/middle.htm#sa accessed on July 31, 2013.
vi
Website regarding religion, offending Islam, homosexuality, drug, alcohol are
also blocked
vii
Aaron Scharf, Art and Photography; London: Penguin, rev. edn 1974
viii
Satellite TV entered the Kingdom in 1985 with the launch of ArabSat Source:
Long, David E. (2005). "Culture And Customs Of Saudi Arabia". pp. 8990.
ix
Husna Mohammad (2013), 50 Million Tweets and the Winds of Social Change
in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; at http://arabiangazette.com/50-million-tweets-
winds-social-change-kingdom-saudi-arabia-20130408/ accessed on August 6th,
2013.
x
Unemployment rate for the less than 30 in Saudi Arabia is 27 percent, and it
reaches up to 40 percent for the 20 -24 years old. Figures from Caryl Murphy; A
Kingdoms Future: Saudi Arabia Through the Eyes of its Twentysomething; p. 45
xi
Marriage in Saudi Arabia is very expensive, pushing the average age for
marriage always older.
xii
Saudi Arabia counts 9 million expatriate labourers. Figures from Caryl Murphy;
A Kingdoms Future: Saudi Arabia Through the Eyes of its Twentysomething;
p.45

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xiii
Youth are more exposed to Media, including social media. They are also more
exposed to the outside world as they, generally, are more literate in English than
their parents or the previous generations.
xiv
The Kingdom host, for example, two Coca Cola factories and one for Pepsi
xv
Probably being the cause of the disaster during the two flash floods in Jeddah
in 2009 and 2011

xvi
Mecca is the English spelling, Makkah, as in the title of Gharem work, is the
transliteration from Arabic

xvii
Green signifying the absence of danger, and authorization to proceed, but
green is also the colour of Islam, and thus, the colour of the Saudi flag.
xviii
According to Forbes, with a production of 12.5 million barrels per day.
Christopher Helman; Not Just the Usual Suspect, in Forbes The worlds 25
Biggest Oil Company; 2012 on http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mef45glfe/not-
just-the-usual-suspects-2/ accessed on August 8th, 2013.
xix
Women can drive, few wear the hijab (headscarf or veil) (Stapleton, Manal Al-
Dowayan, 2010)
xx
Saudi Women employment is one of the lowest in the MENA region. With less
than 12% of women working, Saudi Arabia ranks 11th within the MENA. In KSA
female employment rate among lowest in MENA region, 2013 on
http://www.arabnews.com/news/445991 accessed on August 9, 2013.
xxi
Fahad Al Butairi, a Saudi humourist hosting La Yakther show on YouTube, in a
show in Dahran told the story of a Saudi Woman ordering at McDonalds drive
thru; when she knew the man on the other side of the microphone was Saudi she
congratulated him for owning McDonalds, and when he answered he was just
working here, she prayed for him to find something better. On
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUreo3A-ea0&list=TLxkEvJFwWHRA
accessed on August 8th, 2013.

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