Basmah Felemban

Wave Catcher

Basmah Felemban was born in 1993 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and is now based between London and Jeddah. An artist, curator, and researcher, she received an MA from The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, London, in 2017. There she focused on Islamic manuscripts of the 12th–14th centuries CE, particularly those dealing with representations of the cosmos, mythical creatures, and cartography. This research informs her own projects, sculptures and installations, which currently explore world-building as a method to understand the mysteries of her family history, the role of imagination in rewriting identity, and the ways humans have found to bridge gaps in collective memory.

She has participated in local and international exhibitions including Worldbuilding: Gaming and Art in the Digital Age, Julia Stoschek Foundation, Berlin (2022); Under Construction, Misk Art Institute, Riyadh (2021); 21,39 Jeddah Arts (2019);Desert to Delta, Art Museum of the University of Memphis, Tennessee (2017); Parallel Kingdom, Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston, Texas (2016); Abu Dhabi Art and Art Dubai (2014); Art International Istanbul and Rhizoma (Generation in Waiting), a collateral event at the Venice Biennale (2013).