AL-ULA (SAUDI ARABIA): In one of Saudi artist Ahmed Mater’s best-known works, a silhouette of a gas pump morphs into a man holding a gun to his head –- a clear critique of oil’s damaging influence.
Yet for several years, most Saudis couldn’t see the piece, titled “Evolution of Man”, as local curators deemed it too sensitive to show in the oil-reliant kingdom.
Its inclusion in a recent exhibition in the capital Riyadh is just one sign of changing times.
With Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler, eager to rebrand conservative Saudi Arabia as a global arts destination, officials are heaping previously unheard-of opportunities on Mater and his peers.
They unveiled the latest on Monday: a plan to feature Mater and another politically minded Saudi artist, Manal AlDowayan, in a series of permanent installations in the deserts outside…
