Abstract Camel Race mask

Growing up in a rural village of Saudi Arabia, artist Fahad al-Naymah’s (b.1978) earliest subject matter derived from the flora, fauna and people of his natural desert environment. This had a lasting impact on his later works as shown on this printed mask featuring a detail from his recent painting entitled Camel Race. Al-Naymah’s rainbow of abstract camel snouts not only underscores the importance of these creatures for the region’s nomadic Bedouin societies but also within the cultural heritage of inhabitants across the Arabian Peninsula.

Fahad Al-Naymah, Saudi Arabia

2020

Designed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Made in Italy

Printed cotton

Royal Ontario Museum
2021.69.5, Gift of Kinda Foundation of Contemporary Arab Art