Building on the success of the first show of ‘The Bravery of Being Out of Range’ that was held at Athr Gallery in May 2011, a second show will be held at Sultan Gallery in Kuwait in collaboration with Athr Gallery, on January 17, 2012.

We live in a world where the golden arches are the most recognizable icon and a mere poke replaces a hug. This global system of intertwining networks creates a double edged sword. On the one hand, it has eroded any sense of authenticity and individuality and created an ethic of mass consumption and social irresponsibility. On the other hand, it presents an unparalleled democratizing tool. This speed and ease of access in the recording and spreading of information has allowed for transparency and paved the way for bottom up change.


Our globalized world dictates a predetermined range, within which we find socially acceptable ways of being and seeing. Through art and discourse, such notions are bravely challenged and questioned, hence the bravery of being out of range.

Concept:

“The defining ethics in our modern society have whitewashed any sense of authenticity and individuality, creating an unyielding want for more of the same. This global system of intertwining networks creates a double edged sword. On the one hand, the collective conformity that characterizes our globalized culture undermines the value of uniqueness, creativity and thoughtful deliberation of the individual. On the other hand, however, the ease in speed and universal access of information ignites patterns of behavioral change across the region which contributes to the shift in balance in societal, interpersonal and relational dynamics. It is this relationship that we wish to explore.”

The Range (Conversation 1):

Over the last couple of decades, developments in new age media have formed global webs of social networks. Not only is there more variety and options in terms of which news channel you watch, which radio channel you tune into or which products you buy but the ease of access to them has grown. You are connected everywhere and anywhere 24/7 at the click of a button. A mould has been cast that’s sets us within a preconceived range, whereby our hunger for want and more of the same is never satiated. The following works portray such a relationship and the influence that media has, from the saturation of consumer products and Hollywood flicks to the ever familiar antennas erect across our skylines that have made such connectivity and way of life possible.

The Resolute (Conversation 2):

Such networks have influenced our everyday lives- not only in the way we live but in the way we interact with each other. From the box in your living room to the radio in your car and the camera on your phone, you are always connected. You are always at the giving and receiving end of information, opinion and developments. This is an incredibly democratizing tool that encourages bottom up change- be it social, political or environmental. Billboards and advertisements have become the trees in our urban jungle and flying from country to country has become a convenient commute. This shows you the potential might of such media to not only reshape the physicality of our environment but also down to our core principles and values. It has become the driving impetus for sociability and reform.

The Breaking (Conversation 3) 

This surge in mass consumerism has gradually led to the break down and erosion of any sense of authenticity and individuality. For such a world made up of numerous polarities, to have a single socially accepted range leads to difficult and dangerous outcomes. Divergences will arise and lead to rises and falls, breakdowns and revisions. The same tools that connect the world, can also disengage it.

This exhibition features works by:

James Clar

As an American living in Dubai, James’s work has progressed towards deeper conceptual themes. These include nationalism, globalism, and popular culture in the age of mass information, and often analyses the discrepancy in information between Western media and Middle Eastern media along with its effects on people.

Ayman Yossri Daydban

Ayman Yossri aka Daydban spent the majority of his life in Jeddah and identifies with Saudi Arabia but is in fact a Palestinian with Jordanian nationality. This sense of national dislocation and fragmented cultural identity has had a profound effect on his artistic practice, allowing his work to interact with the viewer in a deeply personal manner.

Tarek Al Ghoussein

Tarek is a Palestinian born in Kuwait and has never been to home country. His work can be considered a visualization of his Palestinian identity as he addresses issues of displacement, and obstruction while referring to his Palestinian roots and the psychological impact of not being allowed within the borders of Palestine.

Aya Haidar

Aya is a Lebanese artist, born and bred in England. Her investigation of the limitations of a visual language within fine art leads her to explore the fundamental elements of language that contribute to a story. This overlap plays on one's sense of memory and imagination. She places herself at the centre of the work, both physically as the object and emotionally as the subject.

Hassan Hajjaj

A Moroccan artist living in England whose work is a comment on European stereotypes of the North African world. He work encompasses many techniques and fields ranging from photography to furniture design.

Pouran Jinchi

An Iranian-born New York based artist who’s has been described as a mixture of Near Eastern calligraphy and abstract expressionism, with its intricate patterns, complex markings and subtle traceries.

Hamad Khalaf

Hamad is a self-taught Kuwaiti artist. His works often associate ancient mythology with contemporary political events and he connects situations that are separated in time by centuries. He has recently found calm and satisfaction in turning his attention to landscapes.

Maha Malluh

A Saudi Artist who uses the technique of photograms – the capturing of images on photographic paper without the use of a camera. She draws on her own familiar, cultural and social experiences that are specific to the environment of Saudi Arabia.

Bassem Mansour & Dana Aljouder

Bassem Mansour is an International architect as well as a multimedia, audio-visual and installation artist. His work is influenced by people’s social behavior and their engagement in daily life activity within their immediate surroundings. His video work is mostly a series of solo performances and experiments in which he tests the limit of repetition and the idea of form.

Dana Aljouder graduated from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York with a Bachelor in Architecture in 2009. In 2008, she received the SILS Twining Fellowship Scholarship allowing her to conduct research in Florence on the allegory of the Medici family through Renaissance poetry, painting and sculpture.   In 2011, she worked with Bassem Mansour on a series of sound experiments titled "rwwzhyx - a controversy in sound" for the Beirut Art Center Exposures exhibition.  

Ahmed Mater

Ahmed Mater is a Saudi conceptual artist whose day job is a General Practitioner at a hospital in Aseer. It is from this knowledge of both loss and enlightenment that Mater appears to have the ability to move from expressing sadness and anger to sharing his insights with a sense of humour and life giving lightness. His work encompasses performance and installation, as well as work on paper or canvas.

Monira Al Qadiri

Monira is a Kuwaiti-born artist who has spent the past ten years living in Japan who explores concepts and ideas of ‘self’ and actively participates in the conceptual structures of her work.

Yara El Shirbini

Yara El-Sherbini is an Iraqi artist who has a playful, multi-disciplinary approach to art-making, exploring ideas of what art is and can be through her use of humour and popular culture

Sami Al Turki

Sami is a young Saudi artist living in Dubai. His impression of his home country and his current city where he is living is the driving force behind his concepts and visions. Al Turki’s eclectic and varied style is a reflection of both his diverse cultural upbringing and the confused occidental versus oriental atmosphere of Dubai.

Athr Gallery

Athr Gallery is one of the first contemporary art galleries in Saudi Arabia. Established in January 2009, in Jeddah, the Gallery represents a range of contemporary Saudi and Arab artists, working in a variety of Medias across the country.

The Gallery creates an arena for dialogue and cultivates new understandings of collective meanings and value. Our public space houses exhibitions that are at the forefront of the contemporary Middle Eastern Art scene. Additionally, Athr gallery offers consultancy for corporate collection of Saudi and Arab artists and is actively involved in education projects, through public lectures and forums. We aim to generate dialogue and learning within a wider artistic sphere.

It is through our artists that Athr manages to bridge the gap between East and West by being actively engaged in collaborative projects with other international contemporary art galleries, institutions and international art fairs.