Open Space #19 Mohammad Alfaraj

As part of its Open Space programme, the Fondation Louis Vuitton presents a site-specific installation by Saudi artist Mohammad Alfaraj (b. 1993, Saudi Arabia), marking his first solo exhibition at a French institution. Based in the Al Ahsa oasis, where he lives and works, Alfaraj develops a multidisciplinary practice spanning writing, video, photography, drawing and sculpture. Drawing on Saudi Arabia’s oral traditions, social practices, urban and rural architectures, and everyday narratives, he explores relationships between humans and nature through poetic fables addressing contemporary ecological, social and cultural issues. The exhibition brings together stop-motion videos within an installation of objects, photographs and drawings. Drawing on the collective imaginaries of his native country, the works combine imagination, collective memory and the living world. Alfaraj undertakes every stage of production himself, from writing and creating characters and sets to shooting and animation, using an economy of means to develop narratives rooted in the cultural context of Al Ahsa.