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Sarah Abu Abdallah
Fortitude, 2020Resin and tomato seeds180 x 15 x 2 cmCourtesy of the artist and ATHR Galleryb. 1990, Qatif, Saudi Arabia, lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Saudi-born artist Sarah Abu Abdallah explores contemporary Saudi Arabian social and cultural conditions through video, painting, poetry and installations. Working...b. 1990, Qatif, Saudi Arabia, lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Saudi-born artist Sarah Abu Abdallah explores contemporary Saudi Arabian social and cultural conditions through video, painting, poetry and installations. Working across video, painting, text and installation Sarah Abu Abdallah’s work explores issues of obscurity and value, probing the social and cultural conditions of contemporary Saudi Arabia.
Fortitude spotlights a Saudi Arabian tomato variety, grown by generations of farmers in her home province, Qatif, but now-extinct due to land reforms. In her installation, the original seeds are preserved in tomato resin sculptures, drawing attention to humankind’s part in ecological turmoil. The artist has written about the work, “The idea is to preserve nature as part of one’s identity and culture.”
Recent exhibitions include Feeling The Stones, curated by Philip Tinari in collaboration with Wejdan Reda, Luan Shixuan and Neil Zhang, Diriyah Biennale, Riyadh, KSA, 2021; For The First Time in a Long Time, Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, UAE, and Kunstverein Hamburg, Germany, 2019 (solo); Unsettled Objects, curated by Omar Kholeif, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE, 2019. Abu Abdallah holds a Masters in Digital Media Art Studies from Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, USA, and a Bachelor of Fine Art from the College of Art and Design from the University of Sharjah, UAE.
