ACTIVIST ARTIST CHANGES HEARTS & PERSPECTIVES

SAMA ALSHAIBI

The art of protest is rendered in beautiful surreal imagery in artist activist Sama Alshaibi’s works. Her subjects and settings are steeped in conflict. They echo the wars she has witnessed.

Born in Basra, Iraq, to Palestinian refugees, Alshaibi and her family lived in war zones for many decades until they fled Iraq for the US, in 1981, to get away from the Iraq - Iran war. Their exodus story is told in her films Goodbye to the Weapon and Where The Birds Fly.

Alshaibi is politically and socially engaged. When she was a child, she was not allowed to travel to her ancestral homelands in Palestine. But now that she has a US passport, Alshaibi travels to the region frequently to create her much of her work, bypassing the Israeli controls with her US passport.

Her personal history is at the root of her activism and her conceptual art. Through performance, video, photography, and installation, Alshaibi raises awareness and tells stories that stir us and ask us to consider taking action.

She is fascinated by the dynamics of humans competing for land, resources and power, as well as their physical and emotional impacts. She digs deep into internal struggles as well. Forced migration, war-induced ecological disasters, critical food and water shortages, challenges to personal freedoms and human rights are all on Alshaibi’s radar and, if she has her way, they will also be on yours.

As Alshaibi experiments and pushes limits, in both her technique and her storytelling, she creates imagery that is both bold and tender.

Her large-scale photos and videos convey the stark beauty of Middle Eastern and North African deserts and the big skies above them. Bright jewel colors contrast with calming pastels.

Alshaibi also references the geometric patterning, mirroring and symmetry found in traditional Islamic art and design.

“Silsila” is a multi-media project depicting Alshaibi’s cyclic journey, from 2009-2017, through Middle East & North African deserts. “Silsila,” which means “chain” or “link” in Arabic, explores links between landscapes and life in the historical Islamic world with its nomadic traditions, and the travel journals of the great 14th century Eastern explorer, Ibn Battuta, all experienced within the context of a threatened future.

In its entirety, Silila, includes 42 photographs (prints and Diasec) and 8 videos (either projected or "floating" in custom made black plexi boxes). It was first shown at the 55th Venice Biennale and has since traveled to museums and galleries around the world.

Watch a video clip of "Silsila" here.

Check out Alshaibi’s book, "Silsila: Linking the Body and the Desert", published by Aperture Foundation.

Alshaibi’s subsequent “Collapse” exhibition featured a range of multi-media works produced over a span of 5 years, highlighting the layered, collapsing symbols that convey devastating consequences of war, including the psychic effects of forced migration and the critical ecological impacts. “Sisilia” was revived and served as a centerpiece.

Inspired by the recent mass migrations from Syria and Somalia, Alshaibi’s most recent large-scale installation, entitled “Exodus,” explores the realities of communities and lands that are torn apart by violence. She references the her “Collapse” honeybee colony metaphor with a magnified detailed image of a bee’s wings.

Alshaibi earned an MFA at University of Colorado at Boulder. She also earned a prestigious Fulbright Scholars Fellowship.

Alshaibi has been featured in numerous international solo exhibitions and her artworks are widely exhibited in prominent international biennials, museums/institutions, galleries, film festivals, and art fairs.

Alshaibi is currently Chair and Full Professor of Photography and Video Art, University of Arizona, where she has taught since 2006. Alshaibi is exclusively represented by Ayyam Gallery.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Sama Alshaibi. “Mã Lam Tabkī (Unless weeping).”  “Silsila” Series.
2. Image: by Sama Alshaibi. “Silsila (Link).”  “Silsila” Series.
3. Image: by Sama Alshaibi. “Wasl (Union).”  “Silsila” Series.
4. Image by: Sama Alshaibi. Woman face down in water.
5. Image: by Sama Alshaibi. “Jarasun Yaqra li l Mawt (Death knell).”  “Silsila” Series.
6. Image: by Sama Alshaibi. “Da r al Isla m (Adobe of Islam).” “Silsila” Series.
7. Image: by Sama Alshaibi. “Fatnis Al-Jazirah (Fantasy Island).”  “Silsila” Series.
8. Image: by Sama Alshaibi. “Ta’shir (Marking).”  “Silsila” Series.
9. Image: by Sama Alshaibi. “Siḥr Ḥalāl (Permissible Magic).” “Silsila” Series.
10. Image: by Sama Alshaibi. “Sketch 5.” “Negative Capable Hands” Series.
11. Image: by Sama Alshaibi. “Noor.”  “Silsila” Series.
12. Image: by BN App - Download now!
13. Image: by Sama Alshaibi. “Silsila.”  “Silsila” Series.