
Sultan Bin Fahad Saudi, b. 1971
King Saud I from the Holy Economy series, 2019
Cloth and plastic beads
26 x 23 1/2 in.
66.0 x 60.0 cm
66.0 x 60.0 cm
In this series, the artist presents four large intricately and heavily beaded tapestries hung on the walls of the staircase and two beaded chairs placed in the small room on...
In this series, the artist presents four large intricately and heavily beaded tapestries hung on the walls of the staircase and two beaded chairs placed in the small room on the first flight of stairs. These pieces again tackle issues of translation and ex/change of cultures. The title references the children’s game Chinese Whispers, where the story whispered from one to the other transforms into something else in the end. In making custom ordered these pieces from a beading workshop in Nigeria. He had found scarves made in India that were meant to be given out as souvenirs for pilgrims in Mecca. The artist sent out these scarves with images representing Mecca that are replete with mistranslations. The African craftsmen were asked to produce beaded tapestries from the renditions in the scarves. In Chinese Whispers: King Saud I, the portrait of the king is seen wearing a turban, and the mosques of Mecca are made to resemble the Taj Mahal. The colors used are combinations associated to African culture. The artist is interested and even encourages these variations and cultural interpretations, now bridging West Africa-West Asia-South Asia, leaving us to contemplate the title of the two-beaded seat Trust as a component in ideas pertaining to cultural reconciliation.