Saudi Women's Artistic Expression

This assignment delves into the experiences of Saudi women artists. It examines the societal and cultural contexts influencing their creative expression, highlighting both the obstacles they face and their contributions to artistic and social change. The analysis draws on academic sources and research to provide a comprehensive understanding of this multifaceted topic.

PhD Proposal
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

Table of Contents
Research title..............................................................................................................................3
Main keywords...........................................................................................................................3
Summary....................................................................................................................................3
Rationale....................................................................................................................................4
Research questions...................................................................................................................10
Creative Practice Methods......................................................................................................11
Position of research in terms of discipline and community practice.......................................16
1. Famous European pioneer artists and Grid pattern...........................................................18
2. Contemporary artists and grid pattern..................................................................................22
3. Jewelry and grid patterns.....................................................................................................24
Initial literature review.............................................................................................................25
1.Saudi Female artists..............................................................................................................26
Folk Saudi female artists, Fatemah Abougahas(1920-2010)...............................................26
Oil revolution artist, Safia Said Binzagr born in1940..........................................................28
Female academic artist, EimanElgibreen (B.1981)..............................................................30
2.Female artist from the middle East.......................................................................................31
Shirin Nehat (Iranian, 1957)................................................................................................32
Boushra Almutawakel..........................................................................................................33
Some resources.........................................................................................................................34
Arab Women: Between defiance and Restraint by Suhasabbagh........................................34
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Women and Powerinthe MiddleEast by Suad Josephand Susan Slyomovics (editors).......36
Outline of progress...................................................................................................................38
Year 1: 2017.........................................................................................................................38
Year 2: 2018.........................................................................................................................38
Year 3: 2019.........................................................................................................................38
Year 4: 2020.........................................................................................................................38
List of Figures..........................................................................................................................39
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................41
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Research title
Creativity versus conservatism: An exploration of factors that influence the Saudi
Arabian women’s art practice.
Main keywords
•Saudi women art
•Creative practice
•Geometric form
Summary
This study attempts to examine the position of Saudi women as artists before and after
the 1980 oil revolution and explores the ways by which the women express their thoughts,
emotions, intuitions, and desires within Saudi Arabian conservative society. Along with this,
the research also discusses the content of work done by female artists. The research will also
discuss the works of the Saudi Arabian female artists as well as their intellectual and
ideological thinking, which helped in the process of the creation of the art-works.
My project will contain two components: the creative practice and the theoretical
research. My creative practice will take into consideration the paintings and sculptures. In
my research, I will practice paintings and use them as well as sculptures tools of investigation
into the Saudi Arabian female creativity experience within their conservative culture.
The study will try to understand how these female artists expressed their feelings
about their surroundings through their artworks. This study will also depict how art was used
by them to depict the society and culture of the people of that era. Here, special attention will
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be focused on three artists – Fatemah Abougahas (1920-2010), Safya Said Binzagr (1940-
2000) and Eiman Elgibreen (contemporary artist), representing folk Saudi, wealthy Saudi and
academic female artists as a whole.
The methodology of this study is based on the principles of action research and will
take a cyclic approach involving four steps of planning (visualization), acting (practices),
observing (impact), as well as reflecting (results) based on the developments of the studio
practices.
The study will utilize both context as well as commentary to emphasize the
relationships between artworks and theoretical research. The exegesis performed the role of
contextualizing the practice. The commentary focuses on the creative process and the creative
works1. Paintings, digital designs and sculptures will be the main components of my creative
practice. The artifacts will reflect on the experience of women artists in my native country of
Saudi Arabia. The commentary on my creative practice involves an annotation and
explication of the artworks.
Rationale
As a Saudi female artist, I find this research as an opportunity to explore the
experience of contemporary art in Saudi Arabia through the perspective of a woman artist
who is a part of the same conservative society. This research aims to study the outpouring of
inner thoughts and memories in the creative art of the women. The work will also explore the
influence of the conservative values of Saudi Arabia, where women are taught to suppress
their views and experiences.
1Milech, B.H. &Schilo, A. (2004). ‘Exit Jesis’: relating the exegesis and the creative/production components of
a research thesis. TEXT, special issue No 3.Retrieved July 2, 2008, from
http://www.textjournal.com.au/speciss/issue3/milechschilo.htm.
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The major population of the Saudi Arabia belongs to the middle class by virtue of
their social as well as economic origins. However, the female artists of Saudi Arabia, can be
differentiated into three broad categories- the Folk artists, post-oil revolution artists and
female academic artists. These Saudi Arabian women artists have created new boundaries in
the contemporary art scene by virtue of their considerable grace, subtlety and drive,. Their
works are of a feminist nature and ask questions about the nature of the conservative society
of Saudi Arabia.
I will critically examine as well as reflect on the work of female artists, who
attempted to express their liberal as well as modern views in Saudi Arabian conservative
society. The paper will focus on the works of Fatemah Abougahas, Safia Said Binzagr and
Eiman Elgibreen, whose works represent the key aspects of Saudi Arabian culture.
The key problems of conservatism in Saudi Arabia, like the conservative nature of
Saudi people, lack of public art as well as women having limited chance to engage in public
activities is important to the proposal to project these artist’s stories2 . This attaches a
negative connotation to Saudi women’s art.
Those artists have been selected for two reasons, firstly, because of their remarkable
effort of practicing art in early stage of Saudi art movement "as a woman". The second reason
is that each of them represents one of the three major categories of Saudi female artists which
this paper is going to explore.
2Ttu-ir.tdl.org. 2017. "Cite A Website - Cite This For Me". Ttu-Ir.Tdl.Org.
https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/ttu-ir/bitstream/handle/2346/63583/KATTAN-DISSERTATION-2015.pdf?sequence=1
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The first category of women selected for this research is the ,self-taught or untrained
artists who practiced art through their pure artistic instinct, particularly in Asir region
southern of Saudia Arabia. Fatemah Abougahas, can be considered as one of the “Alqatt” art
leaders of this category. Alqatt and Alnagash“ art is the local name of traditional art in Asir
home in south of Saudi Arabia. Women who specialized in “Alqatt” art, specialized in lines,
engravings and aesthetic formations. This abstract art form expresses the spiritual reality of
the mystic. Alqatt involves the use of decisive patterns and primary colours, which are
welcoming as well as technical3. This art mainly adorns the stone home interiors of Asir in
the southern region of Saudi Arabia . Here women followed the tradition of house painting,
since the home is dominated by the females.
Figure 1: FatemahAbouGahas with her famous Alqatt and Alnagash Paintings, Asir,
South of SaudiaArabi.
3
Al-Hababi, Haifa. The Art Of Women In’Asir (Saudi Arabia). Eigenverlag/Self-published, 2012.
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Figure 2: Folk Saudi female artist practices "Alqatt" art
The second category was popularized by the female artists belonging to the wealthy
class, whose position was enhanced by the Suaid oil revolution of 19384. These artists
belonged to families which possessed the economic power. They were the part of the first
families that invested in the Saudi economic boom in the early 1980s. This provided them
with the opportunity to travel as well as study in some of the best art schools of Europe,
which was denied to the majority of the Saudi Arabian women. This widened the field of
their artistic creativity and taught them innovate methods by which they could express their
inner feelings as well as emotional turmoil.. The name of Safia SaidBinzagr5stands out here
most prominently. Binzagr was born in a merchant family who were the residents of Jeddah
4Saudi Arabian oil was first discovered by the Americans in commercial quantities at Dammam oil well No. 7 in
1938 in what is now modern Dhahran city.
5Arthistory.knoji.com. 2017. "SafiaBinzagr: Pioneer Of The Artistic Movement In Saudi
Arabia". Arthistory.Knoji.Com. https://arthistory.knoji.com/safia-binzagr-pioneer-of-the-artistic-movement-in-
saudi-arabia/
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in the year 1940. She learnt art from Egypt and earned a degree from St Martin’s School of
Art in 1965.
She was influenced by artists like Giotto Fra Angelico and Cezanne, but later on
developed her own independent style, which was an expression of her own cultural heritage.
Binzagr used oil paints, pastels, watercolors, etchings as well as various other forms of
drawings to express her personal feelings as well as her inner emotional turmoil on the
canvas. Her work depicted the daily lives of the Alhejaz people6 of Saudi Arabia.
Figure 3: Safeya Binzagr in front of one of her painting.
6Alhejaz is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia.
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The academic artists, or artists who studied art professionally, are the kind of artists
who belong to the third category. These artists usually belong to the middle class and exhibit
the desire to learn art. They have been successful in going abroad and studying art in an
international context. Practicing art in western universities is a typical example of their
desires to learn art and this is a reflection of the determined attitude of female artists.
EimanElgibreen (1981-present) is the epitome of such female artists in SaudiArabia.
Figure 4: Banksy and I by EimanElgibreen
This research, will portray the efforts put in by these Saudi Arabian women to create
artworks by effectively as well as efficiently handling the challenges of their life. The
existentialist struggle faced by them within a male dominated society is what motivated me to
explore their art and experiences. This invoked within me an urge to become an artist like the
Saudi Arabian female artists. For this project, firstly I would like to discuss their artistic
abilities, and also their approaches to making art, which was achieved by them despite facing
societal as well as religious challenges in the Saudi Arabian community.
The book, Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye, authored by
Rudolf Arnheim, presents the perception that a great deal of artists are not at liberty to
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explore freedom in their respective fields. These may be due to societal norms which prevent
these artists to explore their creative fields and bring about changes in the existing norms.
The author explains that art should be about expression, and new artists working across
various diverse fields, should be able to express their ideas in different forms and styles.
However, according to Arnheim, the norms/traditions of all societies undermine this factor.
Furthermore, the author tends to lean towards bringing out the way artists see the world by
exploring people’s range of imagination and observation. The book seeks to give an overview
on how artists and scientists play a significant role in influencing people’s opinions and
imaginations7. Arnheim also uses theoretical explanations as well as examples to explore
perception. The book, thus, has the effect of widening one’s outlook on composition,
development as well as organization.
Research questions
- How do Saudi women artists express their thoughts through art to compensate the lack of
visual artistic representation of women in Saudi Arabia?
7Alawad, Abeer, Mohammed Aljoufie, Alok Tiwari, and Lamya Daghestani. "Beyond Geographical and
Cultural Barriers: The Concept of a Virtual Gallery for Arts, Design & Architecture Schools in Saudi
Arabia." Art and Design Review 3, no. 04 (2015): 87.
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Creative Practice Methods
The research will involve an analysis of the various means of artistic expression like
painting, sculpture and mixed media. The Islamic geometric grid is an important ingredient of
Islamic art, which will be used as an important technique in this research. The Islamic art
patterns had its origin from the simple stars as well as lozenges commonly used as well as
observed by the people. These then evolved into 6-13-point pattern in the thirteenth century
and later developed into the 14-16-point stars by the end of the sixteenth century. The two
dimensional patterns for Muqarnast8, which is a form of ornamental vaulting in the Islamic
architecture, included seashells, fans, and various others. The circle was the foundation for an
Islamic pattern. The circle often underlines vegetal designs. Along with circles, squares and
lines are the basic patterns, which overlapped as well as interlaced to create other patterns
like triangles, hexagons, polygons, among others. The Islamic designs are primarily two
dimensional, having a foreground and a background. The three dimensional space was used
in patterns as well as figures to represent multiple viewpoints. A common feature of the
mosques is the use of the three dimensional forms called Muqarnast , which are also known
by the name of stalactites.
The aim of my research will be to test out traditional materials as well as methods
used by the female Saudi Arabian artists and the factors, which strengthened and enabled
them to build their artistic identity with regard to their particular physical environment,
historical trends and traditions. The research will focus on how these traditional art-forms can
be incorporated in the contemporary art framework, which will enhance or change the
stereotyping of the traditional forms of Saudi Arabian female art and dissolve negative
mental images about women in Saudi Arabia female artists. My interest will be in connecting
8Muqarnas (Arabic: مقرنص) is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture, the "geometric
subdivision of a squinch, or cupola, or corbel, into a large number of miniature squinches, producing a sort of
cellular structure", sometimes also called a "honeycomb" vault.
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the 2D grid to the 3D grid, which is used by the contemporary sculpture artists. The
contemporary artists often make the use of plastic as well as flexible materials. The research
will also explore the relationship between the primary mechanical structuring in Islamic art
not only as a prop or a basic scheme, but as an integral element in the total image itself.
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Islamic grids tend to use geometric patterns and avoid figurative images. The
geometric designs built on the combinations of squares and circles in a repeated manner
generally overlap as well as interlaced to form complex and intricate patterns. It forms the
basic framework for calligraphic or floral embellishments or may act as background
decorations behind other motifs. However, the pattern is widely accepted as a grid based
work.
Figure 5: A family of Islamic geometric tiles9
9A family of geometric tiles, derived from the octagram (khatam – 8 pointed star) form a ‘jigsaw’ puzzle, which
through different combinations can generate a myriad of stunning designs. These are typical of the ceramic cut
tile pieces used in mosaics thoughout Morocco, where they are known as ‘zillij’ and Andalucia, where they are
known as ‘alicatado’, from the early medieval period onwards. These shapes are still cut by hand in modern day
Morocco..from http://artofislamicpattern.com/resources/educational-posters/. by Richard Henry
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Figure 6: Islamic geometric grid10
Some of my practices of Islamic geometric grid:
Islamic geometric drawing
Figure 7: Alqahtani. Fatemah. Islamic Geometric Patterns drawing
10Islamic designers used the full range of Archimedean tilings (comprised of simple polygons) first discovered
by the Greeks, but added to and expanded upon these with extraordinary visual and spatial ingenuity. The
pattern==above (after Paul Marchant) is based on elements of medieval designs typically found in Cairo. Notice
the pattern of underlying polygons: hexagons, triangles, squares, dodecagons. The underling tiling pattern is
usually hidden beneath the final design, as if behind a veil, but the viewer is always given an intimation of the
hidden order and this is part of what gives the designs their meditative power.from
http://artofislamicpattern.com/resources/educational-posters/. by Richard Henry
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Digital Islamic geometric:
Figure 8: Alqahtani. Fatemah. Digital Islamic Geometric Patterns
Unity and infinity are the main components of Islamic art. Thus, the methodology of
the research will seek to incorporate the two in trying to understand Saudi Arabian society
through thoughts as well as beliefs. The concepts of Unity as well as Infinity, will be utilized
as tools of investigation to analyze the boundaries of this conservative society.
Position of research in terms of discipline and community practice
In the art history, grid patterns have seen many transformations since the eighth and
ninth centuries. An in-depth study of these grid patterns helped the modern artists to
understand the specifications of the contemporary art. With the passage of time, there have
been many transformations, rather development in the grid designs. These developments
were fully enriched by the creativity of the artists. However, this creativity is devoid of other
forms of learning from the masterpieces. Creativity generally results from the self-expression
of the inner thoughts, emotions and feelings.
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1. Famous European pioneer artists and Grid pattern
Piet Mondrian
Figure 9: Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow, 1930. By Piet Mondrian
Piet Mondrian’s most important contribution was in the field of abstract painting. He
is generally regarded as a founding artist of the modern movement in Netherlands. Mondrian
was one of the many artists, who developed their paintings based on the grid patterns
developed through their creativity as well as innovations. In the early nineteenth century,
Mondrian mastered a grid pattern technique through reducing his art into lines and rectangle
towards achieving a form of abstract art, as shown in figure 10. His style of the use of artistic
language in a grid pattern is generally regarded as one of the critical approaches which is still
considered as of the most important precepts of the modern art. Mondrian’s art captures some
of the basic elements of the globe. His art provides an opportunity to the various societies to
understand the dynamics of the arts and its impact on the nature of people and the concerned
nations. He brought about a radical simplification of the various painting elements to attain a
spiritual order in his paintings and canvasses. He reduced the shapes in his paintings to lines
and rectangles and transformed his palette to fundamental basics. The use of pictorial
vocabulary and asymmetrical balance were helpful in the development of modern art.
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Figure 10: Piet, Mondrian, “Broadway Boogie‐Woogie,” 1942‐3. Oil on Canvas
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Victor Vasarely
Figure 11: “Vega,” 1957. Acrylic on Canvas. By Victor Vasarely
Another important artist is Victor Vasarely, who is considered as the pioneer of the
op-art movement11. His interest in geometric techniques, can be traced back to his academic
background as a teacher in Budapest, where he showed interest in geometry12. His creativity
and mastery of geometric shapes is reflected in his high definition black and white square
arts, which he developed in 1957. These patterns were commonly observed in Zebras and
checker boards as shown in figure 11. His art was very influential in Europe, particularly in
France and in the twentieth century was considered to be a justified tool for an optical art. Op
art gives the illusion of motion by use of patterns and colors. The artist, Victor Vasarely
played a great role in the development of modern grid pattern and geometric designs. He
worked as a graphic designer and a poster artist. He used organic shapes mixed with
11Gere, Charlie. "The Hauntology of the Digital Image." A Companion to Digital Art (2016): 203-225
12Harris, Mark. "Intoxicating painting." Journal of Contemporary Painting 2, no. 2 (2016): 195-218
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chromatic patterns. These patterns had fundamental elements of optical themes and geometric
patterns found in the urban world13.
13Fluri, Jennifer L. "Beyond the Burqa: The Spatial Politics of Afghanistan's Revolutionary Women." Ph.D.
diss., Pennsylvania State University, 2005.
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2. Contemporary artists and grid pattern
Peter Kogler
Figure 12: PeterKogler.1959, Peter Kogler. Sigmund FreudMuseum.2015
Peter Kogleris, an Austrian artist used the geometric grid in his work. He makes the
use of optical illusions to challenge the viewer’s sense of depth with his psychedelic
installations. Figure 13, shows Peter Kogler’s idea of an optical illusion. Peter deals with the
geometric grid as an art philosophy. Through this technique, he portrays his imagination and
ideas about movements. Such a unique creativity of artists encouraged the artists to portray
the power of human imagination and thoughts, which are a part of the conscious as well the
subconscious sections of the human mind. This in turn helps in establishing a new knowledge
of life and making it artistically viable.
Figure 13: Peter, Kogler, “Photo/Foto Vincent Everarts,” 2016
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Rachel Garrad
Figure 14: Rechel, Garrad, “Geometric Void: Oil paint on plastic,” 2010. Oil Paint
The use of geometric grid patterns, is also found in the works of Rachel Garrard
(United States). In the figure above, the painting makes the use of Perspex plastic.
Garrard uses the material in a performative painting practice, in which the shapes on the
canvas reflect the geometry of her own body. According to Rachel, the painting presents the
meaning of her being as well as her desires to create sculptures through the use of symbols,
rituals as well as the myths of ancient civilizations.
Figure 15: Rachel, Garrard, “Geometric void Painting: Latex on plastic,” 2010
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3. Jewelry and grid patterns
BinDixon-WARD
Figure 16: Dixon‐Ward, Mix of traditional jewellery skills and digital technology
Bin Dixon Ward is an artist and a new graduate PhD candidate/College of Design and
Social Context/ School of Art/ RMIT University. Her interest is in the urban environment and
in transforming the abstract shapes of the city grid into wearable objects. Bin uses the city
landscapes as a source of influence and motivation. She also uses her thoughts as well as
inspirations to produce works of extreme originality, such as the one shown in the figure
below. The major focus of her art is to bring alive the life as well as the art of the urban
society. Some of the examples of her artworks are as follows14:
Figure 17: Mix of traditional skills and digital technology
14Mellor, Noha. "Empowering women through the arts." Viewpoints 6 (2010): 7-9.
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Therefore, it is clear that artists using geometric grid patterns have shared techniques
through history through the conceptualization of different styles. This indicates that the idea
of the grid pattern is renewable. In the same way, this research can be seen as an effort, which
aims to study the use of patterns in art. The paper will also highlight the use of the geometric
grid patterns in the Islamic Art.
Initial literature review
Socially, the majority of women in Saudi Arabia are considered dependents and are
not given the power to freely express themselves. However, the works of the female artists
represent the roles they played in the society through their artworks. They have depicted
females to be givers, caretakers, power brokers, objects, consumers, among others. The
common denominator among the female artists is that they all present the position of women
in the society through their artwork. However, the differences were that some of them used
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folk art in their artworks, while others depicted old traditions of the society, which eventually
changed by the coming of the academic artists, who brought the contemporary concepts from
western specialized art and design schools to the genre of Islamic art.
1.Saudi Female artists
Folk Saudi female artists, Fatemah Abougahas(1920-2010)
Figure 18: FatemaAbouGahas with her famous Alqat and Alnagash Paintings, Asir,
South of Saudia Arabia
Fatemah is the epitome of such artists, who literally began the “Alqatt painting”
which started in South of Saudi Arabia. She hails from the Asir Province. During the time of
Fatema, the famous Saudi artist, who is famous for her Alqatt paintings, women used to paint
the Majlis15or the seating area of their houses, with intricate geometric paintings. These
provided them with a sense of pride, as the process helped them in leaving their mark in their
home and also enhanced the beauty of the household. Fatema Abougahas , a widow and a
mother of four, depended on the profession as a painter as a means of livelihood for herself
15 Majlis is an Arabic term meaning "a place of guests sitting"
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and her children. Her tools were as simplistic as brushes made of goat hair. However, her
work was exceptional and she rose to fame as a painter quickly. Geometric patterns of circles,
diagonal lines representing water and lightening, triangles representing mountains, squares,
rectangles chronicled the lives of the surrounding people and sometimes replicated the
nature16. Fatemah Abougahas remains a pioneer in the area of “Alqatt” painting and her
paintings have been preserved in “Abha palace” in Asir region south of Saudi Arabia.
Figure 19: Saudi innate artists in front of their Alqat and Alnagash paintings, Asir
16Zamberi Ahmad, Syed. "Evidence of the characteristics of women entrepreneurs in the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia: An empirical investigation." International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship 3, no. 2 (2011):
123-143.
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Oil revolution artist, Safia Said Binzagr born in1940
Figure 20: Nuptial Series, Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia
Among the other major painters in this context is Safia Said Binzagr, who is a Saudi
painter representing the female artists of the upper class. After returning to Saudi Arabia from
England in 1964, Binzagr was much disappointed with the modernization that overtook the
country due to the economic boom at that time. The modernization foreshadowed the earlier
cultures and traditions of the society she was proud of and wanted to preserve. She began to
preserve and revive the traditional art by replicating old Saudi homes, traditional outfits and
attires, age old Saudi events and festivities like Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and the wedding
ceremonies of the Hijazi17brides. Her art has been featured in more than 15 exhibitions and
galleries in various countries including Italy and also in her own museum
DaratSafeyaBinzagr in Jeddah and have attained worldwide attention. The Saudi Arabian
society now appreciates the complete worth of her role and effort to 20th century art,
particularly in the Arab world. Binzagr’s heritage in artworks still lives and remains to be
refined, reconnoitered, and relished by people all around the world.
17Alhejaz is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia.
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Figure 21: Binzagr. Safiya ."Zabun".1950
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Female academic artist, EimanElgibreen (B.1981)
Figure 22: DoesAFaceMakeaDifferenc? By Eiman
The representation of women in the 21st century Saudi Arabian art, has been
associated with another woman artist Eiman Elgibreen. She represents the new generation of
female artists, who have been taught and educated about art forms, and holds a profound
consideration of the purpose of art as an instrument of awareness about the changing society.
Elgibreen’s art and academic research challenges and debunks the numerous stereotypes the
world maintains on Saudi women, culture and tradition. She eloquently does this by partaking
some of the hidden aspects of her country, which in turn makes her own art unique. She
serves as an inspiration to all Saudi artists, who not only want to pursue art but also shine in
the field of respective genres. Her work challenges many stereotypes associated with Saudi
women and Saudi culture in general. She does this by sharing some of the unrevealed aspects
of the society. She instigates an ideological dialogue and promotes many forms of tolerance
towards cultural differences.
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Figure 23: EimanElgibreen, What Are You Looking at? Mixed media on wood.
32x36.cm. Private collection
2.Female artist from the middle East
The book, Women in the Middle East: Past and present, written by Nikki Keddie,
states that in the process of categorizing outstanding individuals in the society, women
definitely fall short in this consideration by men. In her book, Keddie focuses on the history
of women from the Middle East. She asserts that most of the women (who are artists in
different fields like education, art, photography, filming) particularly the likes of Shirin
Neshat (Iran), BoushraAlmutawakel (Yemen) are key to social development. Their area of
specialization, when it comes to women empowerment and inspiration, falls largely on
femininity. They tackle the issue of femininity from different angles like sexuality and
identity of Muslim women. Besides, in her book, Keddie presents a summary of the past
history of Saudi women, as well as the present developments that have occurred in their lives.
Keddie discusses the role of changing Islam with cultural, socioeconomic and political
developments, and also shows the idea of male superiority in Islam. She challenges such
superiority and breaks the notion that Islamic women are victims and assesses their role in the
development of socialist, nationalist and Islamist movements.
In this book, Keddie bases her argument on the fact that the process of change in the Islamic
culture is a result of its confluence with a variety of other fields particularly culture and
politics. Keddie also seeks to show how Islam, as a religion and a way of life, incorporates a
variety of ideas about the essence of humanity. It helps to carry out a balanced way of life by
providing fair, realistic and objective solutions to prevent familial, individual, social as well
as international problems. Stereotypical practices, such as male superiority are addressed by
the author in the book and, in addition, she enumerates the shortcomings that come with the
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issue. According to her, Islam incorporates practices and ideas of male superiority in every
aspect of cultural, political and socioeconomic developments. This results in enhanced
suffrage for Middle Eastern women in terms of marital choice, health and education.
Moreover, the book tries to assess the level of involvement that women in the Middle East
have in regards to social justice and development. She breaks the idea of Muslim women as
silent victims and assesses their involvements in socialist, Islamist and nationalist
movements. Keddie, in her book, also acknowledges the efforts that the Middle East women,
among other stakeholders, are making towards social, economic and political developments
that would bring about improvements in their suffrage with regards to knowledge, marriage
decisions and health outcomes18.
Shirin Nehat (Iranian, 1957)
Figure 24: Neshat. Shirin. Rapture, 1999
Shirin Neshat,for instance, uses photography and movie production as her tool for the
process of advocating women’s empowerment, justice and inspiration. Through her own
experiences, being an Iran-born artist, who is in exile, she advocates for social justice
especially for women through her photographs and movies19. She advocates for political
change as well as societal change through her images of powerful women. Her work “Hands”
18Sharkey, Heather, ed. Cultural Conversions: Unexpected Consequences of Christian Missionary Encounters
in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Syracuse University Press, 2013.
19Eprints.kingston.ac.uk. 2017. "Empowering Women Through The Arts - Kingston University Research
Repository". Eprints.Kingston.Ac.Uk. http://eprints.kingston.ac.uk/id/eprint/15689.
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depicts holding hands to show a sense of solidarity. She also intends to bring about a reversal
of the gender roles by a photograph of hers, which shows women holding guns.
Figure 25: Neshat. Shirin. Hands. 2005
Boushra Almutawakel
Figure 26: The Hijab Series: Mother,Daughter, and Doll, 2010. By BoushraAlmutawakel
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Boushra Almutawakel, is a Yemeni photographer, who speaks about femininity in her
works. She focuses on the foreign and domestic perceptions, which individuals have towards
the Islam religion and particularly the Islamic women. She is also well known for her works
on Arab women and the way they dress20.
Some resources
Arab Women: Between defiance and Restraint by Suhasabbagh
The author of this book, Suba Sabbagh, addresses the challenges that women,
particularly in Arab nations, are facing. According to the book, a lot of effort is still needed
for the process of the empowerment of the Arabian women, Sabbagh acknowledges the fact
that there has been significant improvement in some of the issues such as healthcare status,
and political rights for women21. The book seeks to give a critical analysis of the four issues
20Mellor, Noha. "Empowering women through the arts." Viewpoints 6 (2010): 7-9.
21Sabbagh, Suha. "Arab women between defiance and restraint." (1996).
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35

(poverty, illiteracy, political repression and patriarchy) that Islamic women face and the
challenges (poor education, gender and sexual oppression, gender inequality) that the issues
bring about. One of the other issues, which the book addresses are employment and legal
status, which affect women socially and financially in the Middle East. However, according
to Sabbagh, the intensity of these issues varies from nation to nation.
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36

Women and Powerinthe MiddleEast by Suad Josephand Susan Slyomovics (editors)
This book seeks to analyze ways in which economic, social, cultural and political
factors shape the gender system in some parts of North Africa and the Middle East22. Kinship
is a fundamental factor in the Middle East and North Africa and plays an important role in
social relationships associated with politics and business. In such countries, the basic
ideologies are that women are subordinate to men. Women are secluded in their homes and
restricted from traditional cultural activities. The practice of performing
clitoridectomies(female circumcision) is still a part of North Africa, that challenges the
freedom of women in a male dominated society. In their book, Joseph and Slyomovics,
analyze these issues particularly in twelve Arab nations in an effort to depict the similarities
and differences of their effects as they vary from nation to nation23. Also, the seventeen
essays that make up the book are quite clear on how diverse the gender systems are and how
they have seemingly disempowered women. Women in Arab countries are denied from equal
22Sharkey, Heather, ed. Cultural Conversions: Unexpected Consequences of Christian Missionary Encounters
in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Syracuse University Press, 2013.
23Rajkhan, Safaa. "Women in Saudi Arabia: Status, rights, and limitations." (2014).
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37

opportunities with regard to health, education and activities outside the family. Gender biases
is a critical factor involved in the disempowerment of women in the Arab World.
Thus, Saudi female artists have drawn public attention to the various roles played by
the women in society, through their artworks. They also used their artworks to challenge the
age-old traditions of their society. Thus, the Saudi female artists have helped not only other
women in the society to get the respect they deserve, but also played an important role in
preserving their slowly disappearing traditions. This study aims to examine the position of
Saudi women as artists in society and explores the various ways by which the female artists
expressed their thoughts, emotions and desires in the conservative society of Saudi Arabia.
Through this creative research, I explore the practice of women artists in Saudi Arabia before
and after the oil revolution, taking into account the religious, social and economic influences
that contributed to the formation of the identity of the Saudi woman artist.
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38

Outline of progress
Year 1: 2017
‐ First semester: Creative Practice Research StrategiesCourse.
‐ Experiment with some artworks, painting &sculpture.
‐ Prepare for CoC.
Year 2: 2018
‐ CoC
‐ Expandresearch.
‐ Exhibition #1
‐ Review proposal and relationship tooutcomes.
‐ Prepare for 2nd milestonereview
‐ Write min. 7000 words towards dissertation.
Year 3: 2019
‐ 2nd milestoneseminar
‐ Exhibition #2
‐ Review proposal and relationship tooutcomes.
‐ Prepare for 3nd milestonereview
‐ Write min. 7000 words towards dissertation.
Year 4: 2020
‐ 3nd milestoneseminar
‐ Focus work on final installation for and exhibition
‐ Write min. 7000 words towards dissertation.
‐ Prepare dissertation for examination.
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39

List of Figures
Figure 1: FatemahAbouGahas with her famous Alqatt and Alnagash Paintings, Asir, South of
SaudiaArabi……………………………………………………………………………………6
Figure 2: Folk Saudi female artist practices "Alqatt"
art………………………………………………………………………………………………7
Figure 3: Safeya Binzagr in front of one of her
painting………………………………………………………………………………………...8
Figure 4: Banksy and I by
EimanElgibreen………………………………………………………………………………..9
Figure 5: A family of Islamic geometric
tiles…………………………………………………………………………………………...13
Figure 6: Islamic geometric
grid…………………………………………………………………………………………...14
Figure 7: Alqahtani. Fatemah. Islamic Geometric Patterns
drawing………………………………………………………………………………………14
Figure 8: Alqahtani. Fatemah. Digital Islamic Geometric Patterns
……………………………………………………………………………………………….16
Figure 9: Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow, 1930. By Piet
Mondrian…………………………………………………………………………………….18
Figure 10: Piet, Mondrian, “Broadway Boogie‐Woogie,” 1942‐3. Oil on
Canvas……………………………………………………………………………………….19
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40

Figure 11: “Vega,” 1957. Acrylic on Canvas. By Victor
Vasarely…………………………………………………………………………………….20
Figure 12: PeterKogler.1959, Peter Kogler. Sigmund
FreudMuseum.2015………………………………………………………………………...22
Figure 13: Peter, Kogler, “Photo/Foto Vincent Everarts,”
2016………………………………………………………………………………………...22
Figure 14: Rechel, Garrad, “Geometric Void: Oil paint on plastic,” 2010. Oil
Paint………………………………………………………………………………………...23
Figure 15: Rachel, Garrard, “Geometric void Painting: Latex on plastic,”
2010………………………………………………………………………………………...23
Figure 16: Dixon‐Ward, Mix of traditional jewellery skills and digital
technology………………………………………………………………………………….24
Figure 17: Mix of traditional skills and digital
technology…………………………………………………………………………………24
Figure 18: FatemaAbouGahas with her famous Alqat and Alnagash Paintings, Asir, South of
Saudia Arabia……………………………………………………………………………...26
Figure 19: Saudi innate artists in front of their Alqat and Alnagash paintings,
Asir………………………………………………………………………………………...27
Figure 20: Nuptial Series, Jeddah, western Saudi
Arabia……………………………………………………………………………………...28
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41

Figure 21: Binzagr.
Safiya ."Zabun".1950…………………………………………………………………………
…..29
Figure 22: DoesAFaceMakeaDifferenc? By
Eiman……………………………………………………………………………………...30
Figure 23: EimanElgibreen, What Are You Looking at? Mixed media on wood. 32x36.cm.
Private
collection………………………………………………………………………………….30
Figure 24: Neshat. Shirin. Rapture,
1999……………………………………………………………………………………….32
Figure 25: Neshat. Shirin. Hands.
2005……………………………………………………………………………………….33
Figure 26: The Hijab Series: Mother,Daughter, and Doll, 2010. By
BoushraAlmutawakel……………………………………………………………………..33
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43

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