Sama Alshaibi: Sand Rushes In, the first book by this rising artist, presents work from Silsila, a video and photographic installation that premiered at the 2013 Venice Biennale, as well as other series. Alshaibi’s lyrical multimedia work explores the landscape of conflict: the ongoing competition for land, resources, and power in North Africa and West Asia, and the internal battle for control between fear and fearlessness. Additional material, selected from the artist’s series Negative’s Capable Hands, Collapse, and Thowra, is presented in the context of Silsila, meaning “chain” or “link” in Arabic. The artist uses the desert, borders, and the body as overarching symbols of the geopolitical and environmental issues and histories linking the Arab-speaking world.
Edited by Isabella Ellaheh Hughes, a writer and curator based in Abu Dhabi and Honolulu, this book includes an interview between Hughes and Alshaibi, a foreword by Salwa Mikdadi, and an essay by Alfredo Cramerotti.
