The first-time contemporary artist Ahmed Mater visited Makkah, he felt a draw to the sacred location that would influence his artistic outlook on life. His first encounter with Makkah was as a child, like that of many Saudis, but his most vivid memories of the city come from when he was attending medical school.
On one excursion, he claimed, he felt as though his “imagination was more strong than reality” when surrounded by construction cranes. We occasionally have dreams about change. And it occurs because all of this movement is produced by the power of imagination.
“They told me I would encounter something new when in front of the Kaaba, and that I would feel a different a magnetic attraction,” he claimed, recalling his parents’ vow to accompany him to Makkah for the first time. That experience stayed with him, and he kept expanding on it to use his imagination as inspiration for his work.
Thousands of iron particles were used to create “Magnetism,” one of Mater’s most well-known pieces of art. The magnetic cuboid, a representation of the Kaaba, serves as the centre of attraction for the small particles. He continued, “I base the majority of my artwork on attraction.
The black pieces laid on the white canvas and all the specks attracted concurrently to the centre focus the viewer’s attention to the contrast and simplicity of the colour palette. Four glass screens surround the exhibit, representing the sacredness and sanctity of the Hajj performance that should not be disturbed by outsiders. His work also explores the concept of repulsion.
With his exhibition of his symbolic cities at the Smithsonian museum’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C., Mater made history by becoming the first Saudi artist to have a solo exhibition in the US.
Mater expressed his desire that the knowledge and perspective that went into his art would somehow reach the viewer, in contrast to most artists who leave their work open to public interpretation. “My artwork has a personal background and is intimate. It is my life, he declared.
The visual artist has gotten more popular among international audiences as he has gone deeper into the collective identity of Islam. “Though I act locally, I think internationally. Now that we are in our time frame, it currently represents Saudi Arabia, he continued.