It is a biennale unlike any other. Making the sacred the heart of its curatorial vision, the second Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah places the holy cities of Makkah and Medinah at the centre of its cartographic imagination, and then creates increasingly larger ripples across the Islamic world. Located in the unlikely site of a Haj terminal, in galleries that are arrived at from open-tent-like spaces, the biennale also boasts a meticulously designed scenography, that would be the envy of any world-class museum.
While art has traditionally been classified based on medium or periodization, the category of religion at this time -- in the domains of art and politics -- is especially interesting. As the Islamic world grapples with decades of instability, that have threatened its art repositories like museums and resulted in loot and loss in equal measure -- the newest being the more than 200 sites of cultural significance destroyed in Gaza -- this biennale represents real hope for a consolidated Islamic position. Even as it turns the spotlight on over 30 collections that have contributed to the showing, the vulnerability of major library holdings, such as the invaluable Khalidi Library (one of the largest collection of Arab archives in Jerusalem), is also very real.
Curated by scholars like Julian Raby, Amin Jaffer and Abdul Rahman Azzam, and celebrated artists like Muhannad Shono, the artworks demonstrate the kind of aesthetic and scientific enquiries that have historically led Islamic art and design. This is also evident in the title of the show, And All that Is In Between: referring to heaven and earth, this phrase recurs several times in the Quran, and brings a broad view of human endeavour and creative enquiry.
One of the more visually subdued but textually rich galleries, titled “Al Madar” (the orbit), draws attention to the synergy across Islamic kingdoms in the exchange of scientific knowledge. The oldest complete geared mechanism in the world, a very finely engraved astrolabe, designed in Iran in 1221 CE, reveals the fascination with the study of the movement of the planets. Arabic astrolabes placed Makkah at the centre, even as they enabled calculations of direction and the stars -- more than one astrolabe on view has been recovered from wrecked ships. 450 years later, Muhammad Muqim made a finely designed celestial globe, inscribed with zodiac signs, in Mughal India. The confluence of knowledge across continents is beautifully exemplified in figures like Al Biruni (973-1048 CE), who worked for Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni’s father, came to India, and wrote his famous treatise on its people, rituals and beliefs. Here, he is represented as an astronomer, who wrote the Elements in the Art of Astrology, apparently simultaneously in Arabic and Persian. Drawing from 34 collections, the exhibits include manuscripts from the Vatican Apostolic Library, one of the greatest repositories of knowledge with over 90,000 volumes. India’s contribution of the zero, and its use by Arab and European mathematicians such as Fibonacci, is also demonstrated in texts.
Another memorable section in the exhibition is “Al Muqtani,” where two private collectors display the riches of gilded ages over a 1000-year span. The first, from the Qatari ruler Sheikh Hamad Al Thani, brings the most exquisite antiquities on view. Drawing generously from Mughal India, it has several bejewelled pieces, that speak of the unmatched luxury of its rulers and palaces. These include ruby-studded flasks and water sprinklers, finely carved translucent jade, the Briolette diamond which stuns with its size and luminosity, and paintings of encounters between Mughal princes and Sufi saints, by masters like Govardhan. The collection also boasts one of the oldest Islamic art objects in the world -- an inlaid metalwork plate that demonstrates life around the Nile, dated to the Ummayad period of 661-750 CE. In contrast, the Furusiyya Art Foundation collection reveals an almost exclusive interest in arms and armour. As the curator William Robinson points out, when the collection began in 1980, this branch of Islamic art had never been collected and had received very little scholarly attention. Furthermore, “this area of Islamic art encompasses all of its main elements, including calligraphy, floral designs, arabesques and geometry.”
Given its location in Jeddah, the biennale dedicates exclusive sites to bring to the fore numerous objects associated with the holy sites of Makkah and Medinah. And it is here, amidst the soft lighting and cladded walls, that the curatorial emphasis on creating a suitably receptive atmosphere is best seen. Massive richly embroidered kiswahs, that clad the Kaaba at Makkah, are in view. Additionally on display are rare copies of the Quran, original architectural parts of the holy site, such as the gilded staircase donated by the Nawab of Arcot, and a massive copy of the Quran in Nastaliq script, possibly an 1850 donation at the Mecca shrine from the Nawab of Rampur.
A surprise element in the exhibition is the inclusion of contemporary artists who reflect on different aspects of the show. Ahmed Makker creates a miniaturized Kaaba that rotates and magnetizes a field of iron shavings, like the gently heaving movement of pilgrims around the holy stone. Asif Khan, a well-known artist who works in different media, creates a Quran inscribed on the finest sheets of glass, in a compact book form, lending the circulation of the holy text an entirely visual aspect.
Closer home, Indian artists Asim Waqif and Himali Singh Soin participate in the “Al Midallah” section, which vivifies the garden, an essential aspect of Islamic architecture. The contemporary artists in this section create a constellation of open-air installations, that appear under the vast tent-like canopy of the Haj terminal site. Soin creates a garden with plants that grow in saline conditions. Desalination has been a major concern in large parts of the desert kingdom, with three million gallons of ocean water being desalinated every day. Soin brings flowers and plants that flourish even in salinated conditions, suggesting a balance between the heavy technological investment required to pump in potable water, and more natural means of greening the desert. In Asim Waqif, the familiar bamboo structures take on a vast sprawling form, meant to resemble a birds’ nest, complete with their tweeting. In an evocative installation that uses over 500 barrels --recalling early methods of transporting oil -- Japanese artist Takashi Kuribayashi creates a stairway through the ascending barres that culminates in a tree, reflective of an earth to sky continuity. An unusual inclusion is the “Al Musalla” installation, inspired by earlier nomadic structures of the musalla, which was made of temporary materials and provided families space to live and pray. Theprize-winning structure adapts dried datepalmleaves into woven walls and partitions to create a habitation that loops into a past practice contemporary viability.
The second edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale will be on in Jeddah from January 25 to May 25, 2025.