Homage One of the first Saudi digital art creations
The original art by Mohammed Al-Saleem. Image credit Najla Al-Saleem.
When the Noor Riyadh festival organizers first approached me with the idea of paying tribute to my late father by including his artwork in the program, I could not decide which piece would best represent him. Mohammed Al-Saleem was an art pioneer several times over. Not only was he the first person to hold an exhibition in Riyadh way back in 1967, but he was also a digital artist at a time when that was rare if not unheard of in Saudi Arabia.
To that end, and considering how Noor Riyadh is a modern festival of light and art, we could not just use something from his oil color collection. It had to be modern and special. Composition No. 5 is a piece my sister and I own which has never been seen by the public and it felt like the most fitting entry into the festival.
Image credit Najla Al-Saleem
It was easier said than done to actually “get” to the piece itself, since the original files were on a very old and worn-out floppy disk. Thankfully, through perseverance and technological ingenuity, we were able to finally access the files. It was especially moving to realize that the painting file was dated on the same date as my daughter’s birthday. It felt as if this day was like a rebirth of this artwork as well, brought back to life and into the light as fitting tribute to a man who pioneered Saudi digital art. We worked tirelessly with the festival teams
to figure out the best method to display his work, how best to design it, choose the shades of light colors, figure out the motions and make it all fit into the theme of his work. On March 15, my sister, my daughters and I went to see the display for final adjustments and approval. As we watched it shine on for the first time in front of us, we were overwhelmed with the warm, loving feeling of my father’s soul looking down on us with contentment and pride.
