Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 16 May 2024 – Under the motto “Now in the Future,” Fenaa Alawwal inaugurated today the Unfolding the Embassy exhibition, showcasing the artworks of contemporary Saudi and international artists offering their perceptions and interpretations of the present and future of our human condition through the perceptual distance of a dauntingly near future.
Curated by Sara Almutlaq with a scenography presented by Studio GGSV, the exhibition addresses the state of our globe in relation to the economy, the Anthropocene, and artificial intelligence. Bringing together works of installation, video, photography, and print media, the exhibition speculates on the role of fiction in constructing the systems that hold our societies together.
Unfolding the Embassy offers a unique creative and immersive experience as it embarks visitors on a fictious time-space journey to the year 2040 on board a Space-X satellite, where visitors explore the fate of humanity in light of climate change, shifting political structures, economic challenges, and AI’s subversive interventions in human life. Adopting a forward-looking approach, the exhibition raises a challenging question: “Do we need the distance of light years, to better see the near?”, triggering the audience to contemplate the dauntingly near future and reconsider our role in shaping it.
Speaking of the significance of the exhibition, curator Sara Almutlaq stated: “At its essence the exhibition is a fictional time-space that highlights the fictional attributes of our economic, collective and technological worlds. In exploring the role of fiction, the exhibition and its artists ask: at the depth of Truth, do we find the landscape of the arbitrary?”.
Artists from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Palestine, Bosnia, Zambia, and Belgium take part in the exhibition, presenting their vision and interpretation of the future of our world through works of art that address important contemporary issues, such as climate change, artificial intelligence, migration, and identity. Hence, Unfolding the Embassy exhibition turns the Embassy structure into a vessel through which visitors contemplate the ruptures of our world and their impact on the future.
The exhibition is running at Fenaa Alawwal in the Diplomatic Quarters in Riyadh until September 1st. Tickets can be purchased via Discover Culture platform on this link: https://dc.moc.gov.sa/home/event-tickets/340/unfolding-the-embassy/
Participating artists: Dima Srouji, Abbas Zahedi, Aseel Alyaqoub, Ahmad Hammoud, Nolan Oswald Dennis, Jerry Galle, Phi Studio, Lana Cmajcanin, Ahaad Alamoudi, Federico Acciardi, Peter Bogaczewicz, Naif Alquba, Dia Mrad.
Press release from Fenaa Alawwal
Image: Peter Bogaczewicz. Untitled from the series Surface Tensions. 2021. Image courtesy of the artist and Fenaa Alawwal
