11-05-2025
Artist Al Fadala explores Bahraini heritage through contemporary visual dialogue
In a striking exhibition that bridges the past with the present, Bahraini artist Hajar Nasser Al Fadala presents a contemporary reinterpretation of the Kingdom's rich cultural heritage.
Titled 'Allow Popular Heritage', the exhibition was held last April at the Safia Ali Kanoo Art Centre, and attended by Shaikha Dawa bint Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, a member of the National Council for Arts.
Drawing inspiration from Bahrain's deep civilisational roots — from the ancient Dilmun era to the symbols of popular heritage — Al Fadala reconstructs cultural elements through artworks that combine technical simplicity with semantic richness.
Visual dialogue
Her pieces invite viewers into a visual dialogue between cultural memory and modern identity, raising questions about the evolving place of heritage in contemporary life.
Rather than presenting heritage as a fixed narrative, Al Fadala's work transforms it into an interactive concept, encouraging viewers to engage critically with their cultural surroundings.
Central to her artistic vision is the traffic sign, particularly the red triangle meaning 'allow passage,' which she uses as a metaphor for societal attitudes toward heritage.
Symbolic tool
In this context, the sign becomes a symbolic tool, suggesting either the integration or exclusion of heritage from everyday life.
'The works aren't nostalgic or documentary,' Al Fadala explains, 'but rather symbolic structures offering a new reading of place and identity.'
Her compositions evoke collective memory, while the background colours — earthy browns, beiges, and the texture of palm fronds — reflect architectural traditions and domestic spaces of old Bahraini homes.
These tones root the viewer in the physical and emotional geography of the past.
