��������

The famous French proverb “Mieux vaut tard que jamais,” which is translated to “Better late than never,” aptly describes artist Alia Mohammed.

Alia studied Arabic at university, and did not have much to do with art at the time. But in 2017, after getting married and becoming a mother, she ventured into the art world.

Steadily taking art courses and attending workshops while raising her children, Alia emerged as an artist in exhibitions at the Naila Art Gallery and the Riyadh Art Gallery, among others.

Through these opportunities, she took up the mission as an artist “to propagate the image of �������� in art to the world,” for her country and the development of Saudi culture.

Portraits of women make up the majority of Alia’s paintings. The women, looking forward, are all beautiful, strong, and tall, but also unyielding and undaunted.

Alia expresses feelings of love and sadness in her paintings of women, silence for fear of hurting others, and the act of verbally hurting others that women often experience.

In recent years the status of women in �������� has gradually changed, and portraits of women have taken on many meanings.

The relaxed policy toward women has reduced territory protected by guardianship, and has also brought freedom to women, allowing them to make their own decisions and explore their will and power to make those decisions.

In this sense, portraits of women facing forward are reminiscent of harsh, strong warriors and symbolize strength and determination.

However, the woman depicted in “Woman’s Face” has her eyes covered, and her facial expression is not very discernible. The patterns on the coated cloth, often seen on the shemagh that men wear around their heads, seem to suggest a patriarchal form of society.

State policy restricts many women in their actions, and a guardian protects them. In the everyday discussion of this women’s policy we draw a line between protection and lack of freedom in our measures.

Alia’s works are thought-provoking, and provide the impetus for lively debate and a deeper interest in politics. In addition, all the portraits have a beautiful color palette that, combined with the abstract forms, creates an emotional work of art.

In addition to portraits, her work depicts holy sites, such as the Kaaba in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. And if we look at these artworks in an integrated manner, we will see that the inconvenience to women, as seen in Western countries, is not due to Islam. In other words, different political and social ideological interpretations lead to different ways of thinking.

I have only described one opinion of her work so far, but the natural appeal of a work of art is that it can be interpreted in many different ways by different viewers. Therefore, it will be exciting to see how the readers of this article interpret Alia’s work.

• Dr. Faisal Khalaf is a dentist, writer, and a member of several charities across the Kingdom.

��

��