Alia Ahmad Turns Memory into Terrain at White Cube Mason’s Yard

In “Fields / ميادين,” on view at White Cube Mason’s Yard from February 28 to April 5, 2025, the Riyadh-based artist Alia Ahmad invites us into a landscape that is as emotional as it is ecological. Her canvases unfold like living archives—of dust storms and cultivated palms, of urban expansion and ancestral memory. Here, the desert is not an empty expanse but a terrain alive with movement and meaning, where history, climate, and culture converge in gestural strokes and layered pigments. Memory is not merely evoked—it is mapped across the canvas in sweeping, calligraphic rhythms that mirror the curves of roads, the sway of fronds, and the intangible cadence of time.

Rendered in vivid palettes and intricate charcoal tracings, Ahmad’s compositions resist static representations of Saudi terrain, offering instead a deeply embodied response to place. Forms hover between figuration and abstraction, drawing from the organic structures of flora, the infrastructure of Riyadh, and the tactile richness of Arabic calligraphy.

Alia Ahmad Blends Language and Landscape

In paintings such as Looming, hovering / ماريه and Drifter / رُحِّلْ, one senses not just visual cues but temperature, texture, and motion. The land appears not as fixed geography, but as a space continually shaped by weather, cultivation, and remembrance—at once personal and collective, physical and symbolic.

With “Fields / ميادين,” Ahmad extends her visual lexicon, transforming the canvas into a site of exchange—between past and present, tradition and transformation, rootedness and change. Her paintings breathe with life and impermanence, offering a poetic meditation on place as something felt as much as seen. In conversation with Whitewall, Ahmad reflects on her relationship to Riyadh’s terrain, her intuitive approach to painting, and the ways in which gesture can hold the weight of memory, climate, and cultural continuity.

WHITEWALL: Your work deeply engages with the landscape of your native Riyadh, tracing both its environmental and cultural layers. How do you see the relationship between memory and terrain shaping the visual language of your paintings and drawings?

ALIAH AHMAD: Riyadh’s landscape presents a compelling interplay of geographical features and cultural influences. The terrain acts as a repository of cultural heritage, with the desert’s hues reflecting the region’s history and resilience. The presence of green spaces highlights areas of agricultural significance and cultural gathering. The city’s expansion illustrates the ongoing interaction between traditional settlements and modern urban development. This landscape serves as a visual representation of the region’s geographical characteristics and the evolution of its cultural identity.

I find that the relationship between memory and terrain influences the visual language in my paintings and drawings. The golden hues of paint that I use, I believe, naturally suggest Riyadh’s desert landscape, while the cooler grays in pieces like Drifter are my attempt to reflect the city’s industrial growth and rapid development. The Saudi landscape is often associated with the arid desert, but for me, through closer observation, it has revealed an unexpected beauty. It’s in the diverse mix of agricultural areas, oases, and thriving crops—from the date palms of Al-Ahsa to the terraces of Asir—that I’ve found a contrast that has enriched my vocabulary and color palette.

WW: The title of your exhibition, “Fields/ميادين,” suggests both physical expanses and conceptual spaces of interaction. How did you arrive at this title, and how does it reflect the themes of the works on view?

AA: “Fields” felt like the perfect title because it captures the essence of what I’m trying to do. It’s about creating a space on the canvas where different ideas and experiences can meet. The work almost becomes a field or a collage of exploration—a place where I can engage with the local environment and try to capture those fleeting, intangible forces that shape our lives. It’s about creating a space for conversation, inviting viewers to bring their interpretations, their own stories, and their own surroundings to the work, adding new layers of meaning to it.

“I’m fascinated by the way nature moves and changes,”

—Alia Ahmad

WW: Your monochromatic drawings and gestural paintings evoke organic networks and the fluidity of nature. Can you elaborate on your choice of materials and techniques in capturing these ephemeral qualities?

AA: I’m fascinated by the way nature moves and changes, and I’m always trying to capture that intelligence nature embodies. That’s why I often use gestural brushstrokes and flowing lines to create a sense of energy and dynamism. In my paintings, I use thick paint to build up layers of texture—an attempt to evoke the layers of time, perhaps, of the desert landscape. And in my drawings, I use charcoal to create intricate networks of lines, capturing the delicate balance between structure and spontaneity. I’m influenced by Arabic calligraphy too—not in a literal way, but in the way I try to capture the rhythm and flow of the script in my own mark-making.

In Dialogue with Contemporary Saudi Art

WW: There is a poetic tension in your work between structure and spontaneity, abstraction and specificity. How do you navigate these dualities, and do you see them as reflective of a broader dialogue within contemporary Saudi art?

AA: That tension is definitely something I’m aware of, and it’s something I actively explore in my work. I think it reflects the broader dialogue within contemporary Saudi art, as we grapple with questions of identity, tradition, and modernity. I try to navigate these dualities by finding a balance between structure and spontaneity, abstraction and specificity. I might start with a very specific image, reference, or memory, but then I’ll allow myself to be guided by the process of painting—letting the colors and textures lead me in directions I might not have planned. It’s about finding a way to honor the idea of heritage while also pushing the boundaries of artistic expression.

WW: Saudi Arabia is undergoing rapid cultural and environmental transformations. How does your work engage with or respond to these shifts, particularly in the context of tradition and modernization?

AA: The constant evolution of Saudi Arabia, reflected in many areas—including its art—inspires me to continue exploring this bridging of heritage, or history, with modernization. This manifests in my work through elements like industrial buildings and urban development juxtaposed against the untouched desert. By blending natural forms with geometric shapes that hint at Riyadh’s industrial growth, I hope to capture a sense of transition, where old and new continuously interact.

“I’m trying to understand the evolution of these symbols and landscapes,”

—Alia Ahmad

Having grown up in Saudi Arabia, I was immersed in a rich cultural environment, surrounded by references such as the intricate patterns of Bedouin weaving, the flowing forms of calligraphy, and distinctive architecture. I want to respect these traditions, but I also actively research, explore, and extend them through my paintings. By delving into the history of motifs and their meanings, I’m trying to understand the evolution of these symbols and landscapes, and their significance in the present day. Painting is my way of navigating this space—bridging the honoring of the past with an engagement with the present, and connecting inherited traditions with contemporary creation.