Overview
100 Found Objects includes images, videos and research material that Ahmed Mater has collected which chronicle Makkah’s past to its present identity. Throughout his research, Mater has gathered a rich archive of conversations. They include personal references and continuous recordings of the urban developments and expansion of Makkah, some of which are presented in this exhibition.
This unique archive draws on wider political and familiar histories of communities that once lived in Makkah’s vicinity. Along with distinctive pilgrims' tales, both the intimacy and the anonymity implicit in mass congregations of peoples from all over the world is revealed. We are taken on a passage that encompasses individual recollections of broad social and political events.
Personal and collective dreams and ideologies are reflected through symbolism associated with a site that draws on the visions of every man, woman and child interconnected by a shared religious faith.
100 Found Objects is an ongoing work which will be completed once the entire expansion and development of Makkah is accomplished.
Artwork Images
Makkah Viewmaster
Ahmed Mater
1960—1980
Mixed Media
Dimensions variable
Installation view
Photo by Alfredo Rubio
Related
Mater, Ahmed
Informed by his education and work as a medical doctor as well as the social, religious and historical contexts of Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Mater’s practice explores the narratives of Islamic culture in an era of globalisation, consumerism and flux.
Talk with HE Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi and artists Abdullah Al Saadi and Ahmed Mater
SAF President and Director Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi in conversation with Abdullah Al Saadi and Ahmed Mater explores the artists’ relationship to their surroundings and its influence on their work.
Ahmed Mater: 100 Found Objects
This booklet accompanied the exhibition Ahmed Mater: 100 Found Objects.