Saudi Arabia Allows Sculptors to Exist as Religious Curbs Ease

VIVA – After years of religious restrictions, including banning artists from making sculpture, Saudi Arabia under the rule of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has now lifted the rule.

Saudi ceramic artist, Awatif Al Keneibit walks proudly into a gallery her work in Riyadh, where statues and earthenware figurines witness the return of plastic arts to Saudi Arabia after decades of religious restriction.

Her exposition includes ceramic faces, some with hollow eyes, others wearing eye glasses, and figurines of Saudi Arabian women, displayed on red bricks and coloured to reflect traditional desert dresses.

"Who could have imagined that one day, this exhibition in the basement could be displayed in Olaya (downtown Riyadh)?" Keneibit stated.

She paved the way for women in the arts in Saudi Arabia's conservative, male-dominated society.

"They used to tell me that this is impossible to show because it is forbidden in Islam. But now (sculpture) is in the heart of Riyadh." she added.

As information, strict interpretations of Sunni Islam, including traditional Wahhabi doctrine, prohibit sculpture as well as other artistic expressions that create human images. Some say the ban is also due to the pagan gods that Arabs worshipped in the pre-Islamic era.

As a result, human statues have been largely absent from public spaces in the Arabian Peninsula since the Prophet Muhammad had destroyed idols in and around the Kaaba holy site in Mecca in 630 AD.

However, Crown Prince MBS has broken down those rules on Saudi society and art, he also let women drive cars.

US-educated Keneibit says she was forced to create a private gallery at the bottom of her house for friends and guests after public exhibitions were banned in 2009.

Now, her work is welcomed in Riyadh's most prestigious galleries, where fellow Saudi artists have in recent years also begun to enjoy their newfound freedom.

Keneibit still shows some works from the time of the ban, including a ceramic face that appears to be strangled by a metal chain, and another that appears to glow with verses from the Quran.

"For me, it was two shocks, one before and one after. We are a generation that has experienced many changes. From total prohibition to total openness. Insya Allah, we will get the balance." Keneibit said.