Ahmed Mater

Physician-turned-artist Ahmed Mater is one of the most significant cultural voices documenting contemporary Saudi Arabia and its place in the global context. His life and work have been shaped by seismic changes and unprecedented social shifts. He uses photography, film, sculpture, and performance to map, document, and analyze these rapid developments, considering their psychological impact on the individual, the community, urban environments, and society at large. Entwining expressive and politically engaged artistic aims with the scientific objectives of his medical training, his creative practice embraces the paradoxes of science and faith. Employing broad research-based techniques, Mater mines and preserves forgotten narratives and unofficial histories to map the kingdom’s past, present, and future. As a cultural activist and educator, Mater is dedicated to discourse and social activism as a means to influence wider civil society.

Ahmed Mater's Titles

Prognosis/Saudi Arabia An Artist's Odyssey

Prognosis/Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's foremost contemporary artist explores the story of his homeland since 1979its politics, theocracy, petroculture, technologies,...


Sculptures of Jeddah Twentieth-Century Sculpture in the Arabian Peninsula

Sculptures of Jeddah

Mohamed Said Farsi became Mayor of Jeddah in 1972 and rejuvenated the city with public art at its heart. The resulting–and unprecedented–urban...


Edge of Arabia

Edge of Arabia

This seminal book sheds new light on the thriving arts scene in Saudi Arabia. At its heart are in-depth, illustrated profiles of Saudi's leading...


Ahmed Mater

Ahmed Mater

An illuminating look at one of the Middle East's most fascinating contemporary artists, this survey is the first to explore the extraordinary...