Ahmed Mater (born 1979,

Tabuk Tabuk may refer to: *Tabuk, Kalinga, the capital city of Kalinga province of the Philippines *Tabuk Province, a province of Saudi Arabia **Tabuk, Saudi Arabia Tabuk ( ar, تَبُوْك '), also spelled ''Tabouk'', is the capital city of the Tab ...

, Saudi Arabia) is a Saudi artist and physician. His mediums are photography,

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

, painting,

installation Installation may refer to: * Installation (computer programs) * Installation, work of installation art * Installation, military base * Installation, into an office, especially a religious (Installation (Christianity) Installation is a Christian l ...

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

and video. His work, which explores history, the narratives and aesthetics of Islamic culture, and addresses

consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...

and transformation taking place in the region and its effects on geopolitics, has attracted an international audience. In 2003, he cofounded "

Edge of Arabia Edge of Arabia is an independent arts initiative developing the appreciation of contemporary Arab art and culture with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia. As a social enterprise ''Edge of Arabia'' is committed to reaching new audiences and impro ...

", an independent arts initiative dedicated to promoting the appreciation of contemporary Arab art and culture, with a focus on Saudi Arabia.

Life and career

Ahmed Mater was born in 1979 in Tabuk in the north west of Saudi Arabia on the Jordanian border. He is the first child of Mater Ahmed Al-Ziad, a sergeant in the

Saudi Arabian Army Royal Saudi Land Forces ( ar, القُوَّاتُ البَرِّيَّةُ المَلَكِيَّة السُّعُودِيَّة, Al-Quwwat al-Bariyah al-Malakiyah as-Su'udiyah) is the land warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of Saudi Arab ...

, and Fatimah Hassan Abdullah Aseeri, a calligrapher and painter of traditional Aseeri houses. Ahmed has two brothers, Bandar and Mohamed, and four sisters, Aicha, Jawaher, Jamila and Reem. In the 1990s Mater was given a studio space in

Abha Abha ( ar, أَبْهَا, ') is the capital of 'Asir Region in Saudi Arabia, with a population of 1,093,705 as of 2021. It is situated above sea level in the fertile Asir Mountains of south-western Saudi Arabia, near Asir National Park. Abha' ...

at the al-Meftaha artists' village. He splits his time between the Saudi Arabian cities of Abha, Jeddah and Makkah. He is currently in Riyadh running his personal studio (Ahmed Mater Studio) and working as a consultant in the Saudi Ministry of Culture. Also a board member in Misk Art Institute.

Work

Mater's work has been exhibited internationally and acquired by major international museums. ''Illuminations,'' acquired by

The British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It documen ...

, is a series that combines explicit notes from his medical education with images of the

Kaaba The Kaaba (, ), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah ( ar, ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, lit=Honored Ka'bah, links=no, translit=al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah), is a building at the c ...

and a mosque, distributed as a

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...

around blue and black

x-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

images. The work seems to ask the viewer if humanity is more than just the structure of the body. In 2006, Mater mounted an installation titled ''The Yellow Cow products'', a work that address ecological challenges of modern urbanized society. According to the artist, "The cow with the yellow color was used as an expression of religious heritage." His Desert of Pharan series features photographs and films gathered over five-years, documenting the changes taking place in Islam's holiest city. Mater considers the unprecedented redevelopment of the

Masjid Al-Haram , native_name_lang = ar , religious_affiliation = Islam , image = Al-Haram mosque - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg , image_upright = 1.25 , caption = Aerial view of the Great Mosque of Mecca , map ...

, including a multibillion-dollar complex of luxury hotels, malls and apartments. Magnetism is a black cuboid magnet surrounded by iron filings to represent Hajj, Muslim's annual pilgrimage which includes the circumambulation of the

Exhibitions

* Selected solo shows 2001 Landing on the Earth's Surface, Al-Maseef Culture Club, Abha, KSA 2003 X-Ray Project – 6th Saudi Malwan Contest Tour, Jeddah, Beirut, Sidon and Manama (Jun10 – Sept 25) 2004 Standing in Front of You, King Khaled University, Abha, KSA. 2004 Chewing (Mudgah), Almiftaha Arts Village, Abha, KSA. 2004 The End – Al Meftaha Arts Village, Abha (Dec15 – Dec30) 2006 Ahmed Mater Al Ziad Aseeri -Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, London (May 12) 2006 Son of Aseer- Al Meftaha Arts Village, Abha (Oct10 – Oct30) 2009 Illumination, Art Space, Dubai (Mar15 – Apr 15) 2010 Ahmed Mater, The Vinyl Factory Gallery, London (Oct 11 – 31) 2013 100 Found Objects,

Sharjah Art Foundation The Sharjah Art Foundation ( ar, مؤسسة الشارقة للفنون) is a contemporary art and cultural foundation based in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates, founded in 2009 by Hoor Al Qasimi, daughter of Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, a me ...

, Sharjah, UAE 2016 Symbolic Cities: The Work of Ahmed Mater, Smithsonian,

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery is an art museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., focusing on Asian art. The Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art together form the National Museum of Asian Art in the United States. Th ...

Washington, US 2016 Evolution of Man at

Standing Rock The Standing Rock Reservation ( lkt, Íŋyaŋ Woslál Háŋ) lies across the border between North and South Dakota in the United States, and is inhabited by ethnic "Hunkpapa and Sihasapa bands of Lakota Oyate and the Ihunktuwona and Pabaksa ...

, North Dakota 2017 Mitochondria: Powerhouses at GALLERIA CONTINUA San Gimignano, Italy (September 23, 2017 – January 7, 2018) 2017 Ahmed Mater: Mecca Journeys,

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

, New York City (December 1, 2017 – April 8, 2018)

Publications and monographs

2006 Word into Art: Artists of the Modern Middle East, British Museum Press 2009 ADACH Platform for Visual Arts in Venice, Catherine David 2009 New Vision: Arab Contemporary Art in the 21st Century, Thames & Hudson 2010 Art of the Middle East: Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World and Iran, Merrell Publishing 2010 Ahmed Mater (Monograph), Booth Clibborn Editions 2012 Edge of Arabia, Contemporary Art from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Booth-Clibborn Editions 2012 Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam, British Museum Press 2016 Desert of Pharan: Unofficial Histories Behind the Mass Expansion of Mecca, Lars Müller Publishing

References

External links