Lot 87: Manal Al-Dowayan (Saudi Arabian, b. 1973)

Manal Al-Dowayan (Saudi Arabian, b. 1973)
The Choice
signed and dated 'Manal Dowayan 2008' and signed in Arabic (lower right); titled and numbered 'The Choice 8/10' (lower left)
silver gelatin fibre print
16 x 20in. (34 x 49cm.)
Executed in 2008, this work is number eight from an edition of ten

Edge of Arabia, Contemporary Art from Saudi Arabia, exh. cat., London, Brunei Gallery, SOAS, October-December 2008 (another from the edition illustrated, p. 136).

Others from this edition were exhibited in
Venice, LIIIth Biennale, Palazzo Contarini Dal Zaffo Polignac, Edge of Arabia: Contemporary Art from Saudi Arabia June-August 2009
London, Brunei Gallery, Edge of Arabia: Contemporary Art from Saudi Arabia, October-December 2008
Brussels, European Parliament, Reorientations November 2008
Dubai, Bastakiya Art Fair, solo exhibition, March 2008
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Regards de femmes (Through the eyes of women), November 2007
Khobar, KSA, British Foreign Trade Office Khobar, August 2007
Khobar, KSA, National Oil Companies Meeting in Saudi Arabia Khobar, November 2006
Boston, USA, Gallery of Social and Political Art Boston, USA, October 2006
Dubai, StarSight Project, September 2006
Manama, Bahrain, Bait Al-Quran, Common Ground, 2006
King Fahad Cultural Center Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Common Ground, 2006
Sharjah Museum Sharjah, UAE, Common Ground, 2006

Manal Al-Dowayan has lived for most of her life in a semi-enclosed camp in Dhahran and works full time for a national oil company that has employed women since the 1940s. The culture which she is a part of is thus subtly different from the rest of Saudi Arabia. Her work explores the role of women in the society with its progressive and traditional elements.