Selma Roth Saudi Gazette Every year in Ramadan, Athr Gallery brings Islamic art exhibitions to the public. This year, however, the organizers decided they wanted something that is not only Islamic but universal. A brainstorming session between Jumana Ghouth and Mohammed Hafiz soon led to the subject of geometry. “The subject of geometry is one that surrounds us all. It has also been a fundamental contributor to a lot of our [Athr] artists' practices, so it was inevitable that we would eventually dedicate an entire exhibition to the subject,” commented Ghouth, who together with Hafiz curated the mega exhibition that covers Athr Gallery's six spaces spread out over two floors and was opened on Thursday, July 10. However, rather than merely celebrating geometric art in Islam or the Middle East, the exhibition, under the name “The Language of Human Consciousness,” tries to put geometric works out of their political, social, cultural, or even geographical settings. Away from its context, the viewer is able to appreciate the art works in itself and as a universal language. Indeed, although the interpretation of geometric art varies significantly according to its context, scholars agree that geometry skills are innate in humans. Though most likely thousands preceded him in examining the matter, it was Socrates who tested how well an uneducated slave in a Greek household understood this science and concluded his soul “must have always possessed this knowledge,” or so writes Plato. With the help of over 20 prominent galleries around the world, Ghouth and Hafiz collected art pieces from a variety of places and from artists with various backgrounds with the help of galleries as varied as the Baró Galeria in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to Lisson Gallery in London. “Our attempt was to survey geometry to the best of our ability,” continued Ghouth. “In Saudi Arabia, geometry in art is commonly seen in sacred geometry. Our intentions were to take things further by shedding light on this broad but specific subject by having both abstraction and sacred geometry coexist in the same space, at the same time.” This resulted in a vibrant exhibition that transcends the message that “geometry is a universal skill,” examining how geometry is used either as a way to express perfection and purity or to explore imperfection and an alternative. To celebrate the inauguration of this exhibition that involves more than 40 artists, Chris Dercon, director of art gallery Tate Modern in London, was invited for a panel discussion with leading artists. The panelists, consisting of Rasheed Araeen, Pakistani conceptual artist, sculptor, painter, writer, curator, and founder of The Third Text journal; Dana Awartani, Saudi-Palestinian artist specialized in geometry and Islamic art; Richard Deacon, British abstract sculptor; and Saleh Barakat, founder of Dubai-based Agial Art Gallery who represented the work of late Gebran Tarazi, explored the world of geometry and discussed whether there are differences between “Eastern” and “Western” geometric art. Despite its universality, there is a lot to discuss about geometry, moderator Chris Dercon argued. “There is so much confusion when we talk about geometry, when we talk about abstraction,” he said during his introduction. Take the word “abstraction,” for instance. According to the Tate Modern director, the meaning in Arabic is slightly different than in English. The same applies to geometry, which has a completely different meaning here than “geometry in the streets of Sao Paulo, or in the streets of Rio or Buenos Aires,” he explained. The other panelists seemed to agree, but stressed that when stripped from its cultural, geographical, social, and political surroundings there is no difference between geometric art from the East and West. “A circle is just a circle, wherever you are, isn't it?” commented Richard Beacon following the discussion. On that level, geometry is just a description of a process. “If you then attribute meaning to a particular number then you can build systems on the basis of those [geometric figures] and set differences,” was his point of view. Following the discussion, the audience was invited to move the units of Rasheed Araeen's multicolored cubes installation “Zero to Infinity” around the gallery to disrupt the uniform display and leave the cubes in a more complex and spontaneous arrangement. The Language of Human Consciousness exhibition can be seen at Ath Gallery until October 10. During the months of July and September, the organizers offer an outreach program to broaden the public's understanding of geometry in art and design. The program includes an educational component in which the gallery arranges talks, university lectures, and workshops at its premises. During Ramadan, Athr Gallery opens from Saturday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Following Ramadan, the gallery opens its doors from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
