Sama Alshaibi’s solo exhibition Silsila is currently on view at the Hatton Gallery at Colorado State University (CSU). It is presented in conjunction with the Center for Fine Art Photography and the CSU Center for Environmental Justice as part of the Environmental Justice Thru the Arts exhibition series. Part of her larger project also titled Silsila, Alshaibi creates photographs and videos of performances, explorations, and documentations of her journey through fifteen predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Maldives nation of islands in Southeast Asia between 2009 and 2016.
With this body of work, Alshaibi demonstrates connections between humans and their environment and ultimately the environmental issues that we all share and with which we must contend. The realistic and fantastical qualities of these images, the intimate setting the viewer is a part of when experiencing the works, and the constant tension between water and desert in the pieces all contribute to forging these connections. Above all, Alshaibi celebrates her journey while also bringing attention to individual and collective ties to the land itself.
