Reem Al Faisal

The Moment of Arrival

Reem Al Faisal was born in 1968 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where she still lives. She studied Arabic literature at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah before attending the Spéos Photography School in Paris. Now a well-known fine art and documentary photographer, predominantly working in black and white, she is considered a pioneer of the medium in Saudi Arabia. Among other achievements, she was the first woman to photograph the rituals of Hajj. She has worked in China, Japan, Egypt, and the USA but defines herself as a Saudi artist, who seeks to reveal the divine presence in landscape and in people’s lives.

Solo exhibitions of her work have been held at The Empty Quarter, Dubai (2016) and Le Violon Bleu, Tunis (2012). Group shows include The Middle East Revealed: A Female Perspective, Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York (2014); 25 Years of Arab Creativity, Naila Gallery, Riyadh (2013); and Domination, Hegemony, and the Panopticon, Traffic, Dubai (2012). Al Faisal was made an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Republic in 2017.