By Aljohara Zarea
RIYADH — The artworks displayed in Noor Riyadh are not just an aesthetic form, but rather they have opened new doors on minds to contemplate on science, culture, past, future and several life fields.
The second edition of Noor Riyadh, which is held under the theme ‘We Dream of New Horizons’, has displayed more than 190 impressive artworks that carry deep meanings. More than 130 artists from 40 countries around the world, of whom more than 34% are Saudi artists, are participating.
Some could think that the artworks may carry aesthetic forms, colors and lighting only, but each of the artworks, on display, when delving into its details is seen to be carrying meanings for most fields of life.
Among the artworks that represent culture, was Numinous Najd that ignites the spirit of Najd in Riyadh made by Huda Al-Aithan.
A 3d designer and also assistant professor of digital media at the American university of Dubai, she told Saudi Gazette that she made this artwork after being fascinated when she first landed in Riyadh for a residency at the Misk Art Institute.
Al-Aithan’s artwork, which is being displayed at Jax District, started when she began to wonder about Najdi triangles, and why the triangle has always been associated with Najdi architecture and whether it has a spiritual meaning or is only functional.
Al-Aithan said that after investigating the Najdi triangles she found it merely functioned as a passage for air and light to flow through the houses, as well as being the easiest holes that people can make in a mud brick house without ruining the structure.
In the Numinous Najd, Huda has redesigned the structural of Najdi architecture and she said that she wanted to reinterpret the genre from the past into the future while keeping the triangle because she did not want to lose its main function that reflects a culture, society, community, but also wanted to ensure it reflected what is happening in Najd right now.
“I wanted this piece to reflect what is happening in Najd right now. There is like a lot of energy, and gravity. In addition to that there are so many layers, specially to the art world, so I wanted the light that I used in the artwork to illuminate the depth of what is happening in Najd,” Al-Aithan said.
What fascinates Huda also in the Najdi mud brick houses is the way people manage things and their need to solve the problem. They only had mud to make these holes for the flow of air and light.
Among the problem-solving that fascinated Huda is the doors of the Najdi houses. It is very interesting how the geometric ornamentation were used in the Najdi doors such as geometric pattern with circles, triangles, a lot of geometric shapes, and a lot of bright colors. It was placed in order to attract the visitors and guests to visit the families in the houses.
While scientifically, Saudi audiovisual artist Nasser Al Shemimry, also known as a DesertF!sh and whose background is in the field of engineering, has participated in Noor Riyadh with an artwork called Inner Light, which is an audio visual interactive artwork.
The Inner Light display will attract those who are visiting the Jax District to interact with. It is a generative artwork that is driven by the observer, so anytime somebody passes by the artwork a sensor will detect the silhouette of the person walking by, and following, particles are emitted from the person.
Al Shemimry told Saudi Gazette that “these particles in the Inner Light are attracted to circles which are the gravitational force of the whole composition, and from this we can see the interaction of the person with the circles emitting sound, so we have the sound and light together as a medium.”
The inspiration behind Inner Light came from Al Shemimry’s scientific experiments in engineering. He noted that they have worked with metal plates called the Chladni Plates, which vibrate and has sound particles on them. And once there is a vibration, people will see shapes of nature with science waves.
And after his usage of Chladni Plates in real life, he said, the Inner Light artwork was the inspiration to create it and try it as a digital round.
Al Shemimry said that even though he did not graduate as an engineer, but it had a great influence on him. What, he thinks, he took from engineering is the love of programming, which gave him the strong advantage to learn programs faster than normal.
He said that he believes that engineering is what got him into this artwork and art industry, adding, “I actually started by being a technical consultant first for the art galleries, and then one day, I started participating as an artist.”
The artworks displayed in Noor Riyadh are not only attractive to adults and art lovers, but some are specially made for children, such as the Chasing The Sun artwork that is displayed in King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) by the Saudi artist Asaad Badawi,
This artwork simulates the imagination and curiosity of children about the secret of the sun’s disappearance on the horizon, with the children thinking that it has sunk into the sea.
And speaking of the many fields displayed in Noor Riyadh, it would be illogical if there were no artwork related to nature. Thus, those who are interested in natural energy sources will be fascinated with the two artworks that was made by British artist Haroon Mirza, the first of which is under the name of 'Energy for the Sake of Retaining Power (Solar Symphony 16)'.
According to Noor Riyadh, the Energy for the Sake of Retaining Power (Solar Symphony 16) being displayed at Jax District is a sculptural installation created specially for Noor Riyadh 2022.
It reflects Mirza’s continued interest in the “Dyson Sphere”, a speculative photovoltaic megastructure that encompasses a star in order to exploit vast amounts of its energy.
The second artwork is 'A Dyson Sphere for Schumann Resonances (Solar Symphony 13)’ and as Noor Riyadh said, the artwork explores the possibility that one day mankind may be able to encircle a star with a swarm of solar panels in order to harvest its vast solar energy sources.
The artworks that are displayed at the biggest Saudi light and art festival also include many interests. There are artworks related to music, nature, ancient art forms, languages, environment, feelings, relationships and many more.
The artworks were chosen and selected by several experts, as the Director of Riyadh Art Program Architect Khalid Al-Hazani confirmed to Saudi Gazette that they had a high-level technical committee that includes experts.A purely technical analysis is made on all offers that reach them, and then they choose the best, which creates competition year after year, and will contribute to making Noor Riyadh a milestone in the world's arts festivities.
It is noteworthy that the second edition of Noor Riyadh kicked off on Nov. 3, and will illuminate Saudi Arabia’s capital for 17 days.
