10 Questions with Maisoon Al Saleh
Maisoon Al Saleh is a multidisciplinary artist featured in Al-Tiba9 magazine ISSUE04, interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj.
Born in 1988, Emirati artist and entrepreneur Maisoon Al Saleh is active in Dubai and internationally. Her art dives, sometimes literally, below the obvious meaning residing on the surface of stories and accounts of the past. Al Saleh focuses on bones and skulls as a means of telling stories that transcend age and gender. She is inspired by historic representational art, like the famous early twentieth century Calaveras prints of Mexican artist José Guadelupe Posada. In her paintings, skeletal compositions reveal stories from Emirati life, culture, and history, asserting new meaning that undermines the bones’ symbolic association with death and poison. Her work brings viewers into a discussion about the importance of Emirati history and challenges how we think about history, memory and their representation in mainstream media.
Al Saleh graduated from Zayed University in 2010, with a degree in Interior Design. Her first solo show was at the Maraya Art Center, Sharjah, in Autumn 2010. Al Saleh’s work has been exhibited in UAE at various exhibitions, including Art Dubai, Emirati Expression at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, Macedonian Museum, Greece, Palazzo TE Museum, Italy, Centro Cultural CajaGRANADA Memoria de, Spain; as well as many shows in the United States.
Photo courtesy Maisoon Al-Saleh©
What was the influence on your work or the way in which it was made? How do your intentions take form and find expression?
It all started after I graduated from high school, it was time to select a university to join and part of the acceptance process was doing a general health checkup. As I sat waiting for my X-ray result the doctor placed it on the Lightbox, a skeleton of an Emirati that made me wonder how we are all equal regardless of our gender, age, and nationality. My first brush strokes expressed various true stories in a skeletal way as part of a series titled “The Bright Side of the Bones” and shifted from black to white and gradually to color in the next series, “The Dara Chronicles,” portraying stories of the Dara boat that got sunk in the Gulf region where my grandfather was one of the survivors.
Early influences shape an artist - could you tell us what shaped you as you began your artistic career?
I was raised in an artistic family, my aunt is a fine artist, my mom is into fashion whereas my dad was into photography. I enjoyed exploring various mediums as a child, scribbling on the house walls which drove my mom crazy. Crayons and coloring books were mostly by my side when I traveled.
What themes does your art focus on? How are they reflected through your background as an Arab Muslim?
A surrealist, I portray true stories that I hear from friends, family members or my daily life in a surreal way. My Emirati culture and history emerge in most of my work as I document real stories happening around me.
Photo courtesy Maisoon Al-Saleh©
Photo courtesy Maisoon Al-Saleh©
How does your work pose questions about gender and identity?
It focuses on equality, inner beauty, and tolerance.
You often return to your childhood memories while, at the same time, questioning the importance of today’s Emirati history and challenging how people think about history, memory and their representation in mainstream media. In fact, it’s what I find BOLD about your work. As an avant-garde performance artist and curator myself, I believe there are many challenges and risks that you have taken and still face. Could you talk about how you use this so that your art goes beyond media and stereotypes?
When I first started my series “The Bright Side of the Bones” I met a strong resistance from the media to feature my work as they saw it very dark and they only thought of a skeleton in a negative way. However, in the works, some skeletons pose in a humorous way for a portrait. The rejection I had at first never stopped me, and I did what I believed in and that resulted in a sudden boom in my career that caught the international media’s attention and featured me. I have had a hundred shows now in 16 countries with determination, passion, and hard work.
Photo courtesy Maisoon Al-Saleh©
Photo courtesy Maisoon Al-Saleh©
You are a Muslim artist working in Dubai, how do you make your voice resonate in different societies and cultures?
In my recent series, titled “The 3 Phase Signal,” I emphasize the importance of deepening the relationship between different nationalities and religions, and although our humanity is the cause of all our cultural differences, it has always been the link that binds us together.
Calligraphy has a history of being a substitute for figural representation in Islamic art. What roles do photography, installation, and illustration play in your art instead?
My works are not considered figural as it’s surreal. My imagination took over the reality that attracted a lot of people, not just Muslims, but various religions as well. It highlights our inner beauty, tolerance, and how we are all the same.
Given the growing exposure of your artwork to a Western audience, how would you like to see your work as part of the discourse on Muslim and Arab women today?
I get asked a lot If I have the freedom to express myself being a Muslim woman and if I get opportunities to grow. It seems like the media is controlling the perception of Muslim women in general. I do have the freedom to create and have been supported by the UAE government to grow in my career internationally. I label myself with what I would want to be associated with, breaking stereotypes.
What was the art exhibition you are most proud of? Any upcoming shows or collaborations?
Every art exhibition I’ve participated in was different, so it’s hard to prefer one over the other. For my upcoming shows, I’ll be having my 4th solo exhibition titled “The 3 Phase Signal“ in Etihad Modern Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi - the United Arab Emirates and GZ-BASEL 2020 in Basel Art Center.
Al-Tiba9 Magazine is an Algerian publication internationally-focused. What are your thoughts on being the only Arab artist featured in this issue?
It’s an honor to be selected as an Arab artist for this issue, and I hope to see more Arab artists being featured in the future.
