Desert X Artistic Director Neville Wakefield On The Outdoor Exhibition’s Ambitious Return To Saudi Arabia

Following its inaugural exhibition in 2020, Desert X AlUla returns for its second edition from 11 February – 30 March 2022, placing visionary contemporary artworks by 15 Saudi and international artists amidst the extraordinary desert landscape of AlUla, a majestic region in north-west Saudi Arabia of natural and creative heritage steeped in a legacy of cross-cultural exchange. Under the theme of Sarab, this year’s exhibition explores ideas of mirage and oasis, both intrinsic to desert history and culture, that have taken on complex worldwide significance over time. Invited to consider these ancient concepts, participating artists have responded with new works that address dreams, camouflage, fiction, dis/appearance, extraction, illusion and myth, while also examining the dichotomy between the natural and man-made worlds. The first site-responsive exhibition of its kind in Saudi Arabia, Desert X AlUla fosters dialogue and exchange between artists, curators and international and local communities, shaped by a curatorial vision that takes the desert as its inspiration.

Building on the legacy of Desert X, which takes place in California’s Coachella Valley, the programme draws on principles of land art, offering a profound opportunity to experience art on a monumental scale in dialogue with nature. Among the works on show, Serge Attukwei Clottey’s installation addresses the experience of globalisation, migration and water equity by shrouding slabs of rock in meticulously crafted tapestries made from yellow kufuor gallons, which are plastic containers used in Ghana for storing and transporting water. Elswhere, Shezad Dawood’s work explores ideas of deep time and the geo-biological relationship between the desert floor and nearby Red Sea through a pair of coral-like forms whose temperature-sensitive surfaces reflect the effects of climate change and mankind’s continuing struggle to find a sustainable relationship with a rapidly changing ecosystem.

Nora Aldabal, Arts & Creative Planning Director at AlUla, tells Something Curated: “For millennia, AlUla was a bustling centre of intercultural exchange and creative ingenuity. Following the success of the inaugural edition in 2020, Desert X AlUla is continuing in sustaining the artistic and natural heritage of the region by placing visionary contemporary artworks by Saudi and international artists amidst this extraordinary and majestic desert landscape. AlUla is a unique landscape that features different distinct and striking eras of geology. Its landscape deserves special consideration and this is especially important for our emerging creative industry sector. Site responsive artworks enhance and highlight the spectacular natural monuments and provide an exciting and engaging way for visitors to appreciate the landscape. Through our partnership with Desert X, we can continue advancing new ideas and perspectives through art. This truly international partnership has been built on a shared vision of fostering cultural exchange and dialogue.”

Offering insight into the thinking behind the diverse selection of artists involved in the upcoming edition of Desert X AlUla, Neville Wakefield, Artistic Director of Desert X and Co-Artistic director of Desert X AlUla tells SC: “Unlike institutional exhibitions which tend to be constructed around a thesis or idea, with Desert X AlUla it is the desert itself – as both idea and place – that is the curatorial concept. Artists have always been drawn to the idea of a constantly shifting landscape in part because it offers the possibility of reimagining our place within the world. Desert X AlUla is framed as a cross-cultural dialogue between artists from different backgrounds, cultures and part of the world who have a common interest in exploring the ideas that shape this extraordinary landscape and of bringing new perspectives to old understandings.”

Wakefield continues: “In bringing together artists from different parts of the world in this way, what is especially exciting is how the works function together as a collective barometer of our times. Under the umbrella theme of Sarab run a number of different currents including ideas about growth and transformation, the relationship between biological, historical and geological time, fractals and the relationship of pattern making to the cosmos as well as questions circling ideas of technology, sustainability the environment and how these impact our collective futures. All of these are refracted through the art but it is the place itself and its natural beauty that has for millennia drawn people to AlUla, which never ceases to amaze.”

Further projects to look forward to include Stephanie Deumer’s underground greenhouse for Desert X AlUla. Hinting at the lush sanctuary of native plants below, a large puddle-shaped array of solar panels mounted flush with the desert floor creates an energy feedback loop where the energy of the sun is captured, stored and transformed through photosynthesis into growth and transformation. While Sultan bin Fahad’s mud structure is shaped like a desert kite, with mirrors on the façade that create the look of a mirage, and houses an urn-like sculpture embossed with four protective symbols traditionally used in Nabatean tombs. And Abdullah AlOthman’s piece references theories of light refraction rooting back to the early days of desert civilisation and culture, with stainless steel plinths that interact with the light and create a radiant space that seeks to manifest the experience of capturing the mirage for the first time.



Feature image: Manal AlDowayan, Now You See Me, Now You Don’t, Installation view at Desert X AlUla. Photo by Lance Gerber. Courtesy of the artist and Desert X AlUla