Ayyam Gallery DIFC presents Salvation, the solo exhibition of conceptual artist Rashed Al Shashai.
Featuring a new series of photographs and installation work, the exhibition explores the concept of spiritual salvation as it is exploited and manipulated by militant, extremist groups. Using the story of the Grand Mosque seizure in 1979 as a starting point, Al Shashai examines how such events affect vulnerable communities when violence and extremism are justified through a deeply flawed understanding of morality and redemption.
Al Shashai’s recent work is inspired by the history of the seizure, a crisis that not only shook Saudi Arabia but also had a significant impact on his family. The artist’s grandfather was in the Grand Mosque when Salafi ‘rejectionist’ militant Juhayman al Otaybi instructed a large group of armed men to takeover the holy site in a standoff with Saudi authorities. Al Shashai’s grandfather escaped despite a complete lockdown of the mosque by climbing through a small window that was shaped like an Islamic star.