Just Des(s)erts > A Solo Exhibition by #Saudi Artist Maha Malluh in #London

Just Des(s)erts, Saudi artist Maha Malluh’s first solo show in London, is taking place at Selma Feriani Gallery. Malluh's newest mixed media installation works as well her photogram series ‘Capturing Light’ are all on view and have all already been sold. 

The successful solo exhibition was greatly influenced by the artist's spiritual connection to the historic region of Najd, Maha has witnessed the growing changes in her beloved country over the recent decades with an observant eye, and a heavy heart.  She has focused on the use of objects in her work as a means of portraying these changes and the resulting confrontation between modernity and cultural heritage.

In ‘Just Des(s)erts’, Maha has ventured out of the perimeters of her household into the wider Saudi environment. The objects she uses are no longer smaller personal items, but what can be described as historic items that represent the collective identity of Saudi society. In this case, her means of expression is no longer photograms, which represent objects, but mixed media installations that consist of the objects themselves, for when an object can no longer operate as was originally intended, a new function through adaptive reuse can be the only way to preserve the heritage of its significance..‘Just Des(s)erts’, through its poignant use of personal and vintage objects, leaves the viewer moved, and imbued with a sense of nostalgia. 

Although Saudi’s oil wealth arrived suddenly and precipitated a hedonistic lifestyle, one cannot help but sense that all things come at a price, that with every action comes an equal and opposite reaction.  

‘Just Des(s)erts’ reminds us that nothing lasts in the desert; it is one of the harshest and most forbidding habitats on Earth, and a law unto itself. We must preserve and salvage the best of what makes us who we are.The exponential rate of modernisation is surely and systematically deconstructing our societies. This current threat to our present existence should be the target of our consideration, rather than ad-hoc ideologies for a future utopian existence.

8th Oct - 11th Nov, 2012

Selma Feriani Gallery, London

23 Maddox StreetLondon, W1S 2QN