Conversations Through Time | AlUla | 2022

Through a juxtaposition of past and present, comes an ongoing conversation in time. From historical poetry intersecting with the current community’s words, the past continues to speak to the present, and so the conversation continues between the different generations of AlUla. This concept emerges from the welcoming words of the local community of AlUla, bridged with poems of Jamil Buthayna from a different era.

Jamil Buthayna is a highly celebrated poet in AlUla. He is known for his poetry being a mere representation of his love for Buthayna, who originally came from Wadi Al Qura. His poetry remains acknowledged by the present community as a symbol of their openness, loving, and welcoming souls. The artist selected poems and phrases that become part of the installation as a representation of Words from the Past. These phrases are depicted in a debossed/engraved manner inside the core strokes of the piece, referring to documentation techniques from the past. The past, therefore, intrigues the viewer to read deeper into it, just like poetry does.

The artist further interprets the past by taking reference from the form and parameters of the old town of AlUla and tracing the different inside routes that cross each other to create a top view plan and setting of the installation piece. These intersections act as a reference to the cultural crossroads that carry the conversations that could have once taken place in AlUla; conversations that are still alive with the new generations and were passed through oral communication as a welcoming message from one generation to the next.

The present on the other hand is spoken and heard through word of mouth, differently, every time it is being told by different people. Expanding on the open spirit of the people of AlUla, the present is portrayed by the artist using phrases and words of welcoming people arriving at their first stop, collected from a selected group of different genders and age groups, that took part in the research process to represent the present local community and its generations. The process involved collecting a set of recordings of the people’s voices saying “Ahlan Wa Sahlan” and other forms of welcoming messages, phrases, sayings, and words that are unique to AlUla, in the local accents and pronunciations. The aim was to make the community engage and help build the content of the work.