Reem Al Faisal
Fine art & documentary photographer.
Studied Arabic literature at King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah than attend Spéos, a photography school in Paris.
In a touring exhibition between 1996 and 1999, her black and white series Port of Jeddah was exhibited in France, China, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. This series was unique as it was the first time the port had been photographed moreover, it was photographed by a woman. Al Faisal continues to photograph using film and viewing her images as black and white prints.
Reem Al Faisal is considered as a pioneer in Art&Photography in Saudi Arabia and her art work’s signature is recognized in middle east and all over the world , she reconciles her identity and traditions with modernity in a new vision ” In our modern culture , we have been trained to focus upon the physical we see through our mind, will and emotions , but there’s a spiritual dimension which is expressed through beauty and creativity and this is what i try to achieve myself and to show through my work , i’m not a planned-career kind of person , i’m simply an art lover in general and photography in particular ” Said Reem Al Faisal.
Some of her recent group exhibitions include Howard Greenberg Gallery New York (2014) The Middle East revealed,A female perspective , St. Road (2013), MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Arts, Debrecen, Hungary; 25 Years of Arab Creativity (2013), Naila Art Gallery, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Domination, Hegemony, and the Panopticon (2012), Traffic, Dubai; Edge of Arabia London (2008), Brunei Gallery, London; and Images from the Arab World (2007), National Museum of Singapore. A solo exhibition of her work, Reem Al Faisal Photography, was held at Le Violon Bleu, Tunis, Tunisia, in 2012. Al Faisal says: “I like to define myself as a Muslim artist, sprung from my native Saudi culture and history. In my art I am seeking to show signs of the Divine in nature and in Man. For me, light is one of the many manifestations of God. Which He casts in our path through life to remind us of His constant presence in ourselves and in every place. Every photograph is a pattern of light and shade. For me, my photography is a way to praise God’s glory in the universe.”