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Faculty and Alumna’s Exhibition Opens at Wusum Gallery

May 12, 2024
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One of hana's work at the Wusum Exhibition . It is a wave shipped piece of wood constructed of squares . similar types of artwork are in the background . It is set against a gray floor

Al-Saadi is a renowned Qatari interdisciplinary artist who investigates the intersection of language, the feminine body, traditions, materiality, and domestic environments, with a keen focus on how these elements are transformed by technological advancements

Titled ‘Home Economics’, the exhibition runs until June 5

This artwork is a sculpture that shows two curtains . one carton is red and the other curtain is pink . Both curtains have a hand ripping into it . The hands have long sharp fingernails
This artwork is laid on the floor with a sheet made of cloth along the bottom of a wall . on top of the sheet are dozens of small hand sized wax figures showing human like shapes lying horizontally on the sheet
This artwork is called Skin Tiles and it is a soft sculpture and interactive installation where hana used the texture of her “ covered skin and imprinted it into marbled rubber tiles " in a wave shape set against a grey floor
this work titled Etiquette Class is a painting referencing an Instagram photo of a group of people instructed to pose in symmetry for a photo

A solo exhibition by Hana Al-Saadi, a VCUarts Qatar adjunct Painting + Printmaking faculty member and alumna, has opened at the Wusum Gallery at St. Regis Hotel in Doha.

Titled ‘Home Economics’, the exhibition runs until June 5, 2024.

Al-Saadi explained the concept behind the exhibition.

“Home Economics turns the gallery into a domestic space, fragmenting its segments. It examines our forecasted identity and its importance to the Khaleeji culture. The display recalls the wake of camera-equipped phones and their impact on our privacy.

“I have used a diverse array of mediums, including sculpture, painting, sound, and installation, and as viewers navigate through the exhibition, they can reflect on their own experiences of domesticity,” she said.

Among the displayed artworks is ‘Skin Tiles’, a soft sculpture and interactive installation where Al-Saadi used the texture of her “covered skin and imprinted it into marbled rubber tiles”.

‘Etiquette Class’ is a painting referencing an Instagram photo of a group of people instructed to pose in symmetry for a photo, while ‘Dress Code 1-4’ are “stamped paintings of cardboard cutouts of shutter stock pictures of people presenting themselves as Khaleeji”. ‘Fulla’s Body’ consists of 112 casts of the iconic covered body of ‘Fulla’.  

The exhibition also features some of Al-Saadi’s past works, including ‘My Best Friend and I’ (two curtains torn by casts of the artist’s own hands, with absurdly long decorated nails), ‘But These are Saudi Colors’, a cut-out to showcase the design of Al-Saadi’s primary public school uniform of the same fabric; and ‘Endless Work, Unless the Power is Out’, that showcases her grandmother’s sewing machine.

Al-Saadi is a renowned Qatari interdisciplinary artist who investigates the intersection of language, the feminine body, traditions, materiality, and domestic environments, with a keen focus on how these elements are transformed by technological advancements.

Her internationally acclaimed works have been featured at prominent institutions such as Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and the Fire Station gallery in Doha; International Studios and Curatorial Program, New York City; Cosmoscow, Moscow; and the Saatchi Gallery, London.

Al-Saadi holds an MFA in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design and graduated cum laude with a BFA in Painting + Printmaking from VCUarts Qatar.

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