RIYADH: Intermix’s second residency open studio provides a gateway to a sphere of creative exploration where artists from around the world place the Kingdom’s natural landscapes and cultural elements at the centre of their work.
Around 15 creators worked together for over 10 weeks to develop their own artistic vision, inspired by the intersection of visual arts and fashion, focusing on the themes of transformation, innovation and sustainability.
Kuwaiti artist Maha Alasaker uses her body as a weaving loom, reflecting on the complex relationship between the body and the earth. (Photos AN)
Italian visual artist Ivo Cotani told Arab News: “The residency pushed me forward a lot. I saw (this) not only in my productions, but (by) being myself in my art. I feel more mature and more comfortable in what I do.”
His artwork, “I Am Nature,” is a combination of different media and is inspired by local flora and fauna. His studio showcases small ceramic sculptures of oryxes, camels, eagles and other animals, abstract floral paintings and animal floral masks made with the help of two craftsmen.
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The Intermix residency program is fully funded and initiated by the Visual Arts Commission of Saudi Arabia in collaboration with the Fashion Commission and takes place in the JAX district of Diriyah.
He added: “Whenever I work, I always identify with the land in some way. I looked at nature and the desert, I also visited AlUla and saw tombs and eagles there. From that point on, I started creating and researching desert animals. I thought about embodying nature in some way, and then I thought about masks.
Egyptian fashion designer Somai Abolezz’s abstract wearable installations depict elements of a caravan’s journey from Egypt to Mecca. (Photo)
The open studio’s work delves into the intricacies of the human experience, examining how individuals embody memories, emotions, and interpretive codes that shape relationships with each other, everyday life, and the natural world, creating an archive of experimentation, exploration, and possibility.
“Fragments of the Missing” by Saudi visual artist Maram Alsuliman reflects her background and interest in tradition. It examines the why and the impact of forgotten, lost traditions that are only temporarily preserved through oral transmission.
Egyptian fashion designer Somaia Abolezz’s abstract installations depict elements of the caravan’s journey from Egypt to Mecca. (AN photo)
She told Arab News: “My family is from Najran, but I was born and raised in Jeddah, so I was always curious to learn more about Najran. Even though it’s hard for me to learn, even though my parents are from there, how can others learn? I felt it was my duty to document and tell people about it through my art.”
Reflecting the residence’s sustainability theme, it uses items that are thrown away, such as date pits and broken coffee cups, to create abstract shapes that are then screen-printed onto the bags. Natural black dye is made from crushed date seeds.
Egyptian fashion designer Somai Abolez’s abstract wearable installations depict elements of a caravan’s journey from Egypt to Mecca. (Photo)
Alsuliman added: “My father used to bring dates from Najran in these plastic bags. For him, it was carrying food, but I wanted to use them to carry my traditions.”
Alla Alsahli, a Syrian-Palestinian designer born and raised in the US, uses material manipulation and repetition to tell stories rooted in culture and space.
Egyptian fashion designer Somaia Abolez’s abstract installations depict elements of a caravan’s journey from Egypt to Mecca. (Photo AN)
Her Intermix project explores the idea of conservation through architecture in Riyad and beyond. Inspired by the triangular geometric patterns of traditional Najdi mud buildings, Alsahli creates fashionable pieces in clay, rope and fabric.
Her first set connects each handmade ceramic piece with thread to hold them together. The second is made of discarded muslin, which most designers use as a prototype, connected together with a rope. The process of combining each element with the other symbolizes hope for preservation.
Just as architecture goes through phases, construction followed by deconstruction, art reflects this process.
She told Arab News: “The rebuilding phase — when people are trying to revive and bring this space back to life — we see this a lot here in Riyadh, in Diriyah and Al-Bujairi, where a lot of people want to preserve this culture and style because it’s so important to Najd. I wanted to translate that into fashion, to show the idea of rebuilding.
“When I started the project, I thought a lot about Saudi Arabia, but I felt bad that I didn’t relate it to myself and my identity. When I started thinking more about myself, I thought about Syria and Palestine, and that’s where the idea of ruins and preservation came from.
The program’s mission is to foster a common visual language that celebrates the expressive potential of both visual arts and fashion design.
Kuwaiti artist Maha Alasaker focuses on the relationship between nature and culture, with particular emphasis on natural colors that can be extracted from the earth. This led her to research herbal medicines and their historical use in treating pain in women.
She performs live, using her own body as a weaving loom, while reflecting on the complex relationship between the body and the earth.
While Egyptian fashion designer Somaia Abolez’s abstract installations depict elements of a caravan’s journey from Egypt to Mecca, Saudi artist Um Kalthoom Al-Alawi explores what is hidden and what is revealed through patterns printed on fabric in her work “Images of Memory.”
The Intermix residency program is entirely funded and initiated by the Saudi Arabian Visual Arts Commission in collaboration with the Fashion Commission and takes place in the JAX district of Diriyah.
The aim of the project is to provide emerging and intermediate Saudi nationals, residents and international visual artists, fashion designers and curators with a platform to innovate, experiment and collaborate in a supportive creative environment.