Sophia Al-Maria is a Qatari American artist, writer, and filmmaker. She is known for coining “Gulf Futurism” with Kuwaiti musician and friend Fatima Al Qadiri. Gulf Futurism is an aesthetic art movement that recognizes the hyper fast development of the Gulf region and the impact that that modernization has on the local culture. Imagery of Gulf Futurism commonly exposes the contradictions of capitalism and techno-culture through an Arab-centric lens. Al-Maria describes Gulf Futurism in a collection of her writings, Sad Sack (2019), as a microcosm of global transformations and the connected social issues that stem from accelerated development.
Al-Maria’s first solo exhibition in the United States was her immersive video installation Black Friday (2016) at the Whitney Museum of American History. The work focuses on shopping and the increase in malls in the Gulf that Al-Maria witnessed in her youth growing up. Black Friday is a message on the consumerism that speaks to the confusion and creation of malls as temples of capitalism. Her most recent works, Beast Type Song (2019), Tender Point Ruin (2021), and Tiger Strike Red (2022), are a trilogy of counter histories that address the violence of colonialism and imperialism.
Al-Maria’s memoir The Girl Who Fell to Earth discusses her experiences growing up between America and Qatar, informing the foundation of her artistic vision that would later become Gulf Futurism. The memoir also serves as a coming of age story, exploring Al-Maria’s journey to find herself among both sides of her family and heritage. To learn more about Sophia Al-Maria, visit: https://www.widewalls.ch/artists/sophia-al-maria
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