Mohammad Alfaraj

Glimpses of Now

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Mohammad Alfaraj, Glimpses of Now, 2015-, Single channel video, 53:24 mins. Art Jameel Collection. Image courtesy of Athr Gallery

Artwork Details

Artist

Mohammad Alfaraj

Title

Glimpses of Now

Date

2015-

Medium

Single channel video

Dimensions

53:24 mins

Credit Line

Art Jameel Collection

Work Description

Bringing together mobile phone and camera footage gathered from 2015 to the present day, AlFaraj captures moments from the mundane to the celebratory in the lives of people across Saudi Arabia. These vignettes into everyday life take place against heterogeneous backdrops, whether from the city streets and through a window, by the sea along coastal areas, atop a mountain looking down upon the city below, or in the fields of the south, Alfaraj captures an expansive and dynamic view of landscape. 

This film is a poetic take on documentary, as scenes shift from one locale to the another, one moment of a time once-present to the next. He captures in real-time the fleeting seconds that make-up this period of accelerated change in the nation.

As an ongoing project, the artist continues to add footage to the film, forever expanding our view of “now”.

Artist Biography

Having studied engineering and growing up loving the camera in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, a region considered to be one of the largest desert oases in the world, Mohammad Alfaraj’s work can be described as a cinematic collage of mediums, practices and ideas. With his artwork and projects, Alfaraj aims to create a world charged with stories, poetry and the search for truth via exploration, documentation and interpretation, resulting in works that the artist hopes nurture imagination and empathy. His use and reuse of organic and manmade waste work as a physical capsule of memories and time, with these materials and their histories holding a spiritual quality. A visual artist that works in film, photography, sculpture and poetry, influenced by his hometown and his travels, Alfaraj attempts to capture the imprint and impact of life both literally and metaphorically. Alfaraj also engages in workshops and action-based activities with the community as a believer in collective creativity.

Useful Links

https://hayyjameel.org/whats-on/group-exhibition-the-mountains-quiver-in-anticipation/