H A T T O N G A L L E R Y SAMA ALSHAIBI: SILSILA October 5 - December 22 HATTON GALLERY Visual Arts Building Colorado state University
Sama Alshaibi: SILSILA
Released to accompany the exhibition Silsila
October 5 – December 22, 2023
HATTON GALLERY
Curators:
Hamidah Glasgow, Executive Director, Center for Fine Art Photography
Silvia Minguzzi , Director of the Hatton Gallery & Digital Performing Space and catalog designer
Work-Study: Madrigal Frederick-Law
The Center for Fine Art Photography is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit, promotes the art of photography by supporting the growth of diverse creative artists through exhibitions and educational programs. For more information www.c4fap.org
Support for the exhibition Silsila has been provided by the Lilla B. Morgan Fund at CSU.
Cover Image: Sama Alshaibi, Mā Lam Tabkī (Unless weeping), 2014, Diasec, 2.5 meters by 1.66 meters, unique
HATTON GALLERY
Visual Arts Building
Department of Art and Art History
Colorado State University
551 W. Pitkin Street, Fort Collins, CO, 80523 hatton.colostate.edu
HATTON GALLERY - Department of Art and Art History
Sama Alshaibi: SILSILA
HATTON GALLERY
DEPARTMENT OF ART AND ART HISTORY
Colorado State University
October 5 – December 22, 2023
3 Sama Alshaibi: Silsila
Sama Alshaibi: SILSILA
The Center for Fine Art Photography, the Center for Environmental Justice, and the Hatton Gallery present Sama Alshaibi: Silsila as part of the Environmental Justice thru the Arts exhibition series.
Silsila: Arabic for ‘chain’ or ‘link’— is a multi-media project depicting Alshaibi’s sevenyear cyclic journey through the significant deserts and endangered water sources of the Middle East and North African region. Through this body of work, the artist examines connections between different cultures that are under threat of displacement, recognizing shared global issues that need to be addressed.
Inspired by the great 14th-century Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta, Alshaibi loosely followed his ancient paths through the present-day Middle East and North Africa, to the islands of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, a nation slated to be the first to “disappear” by rising tides, and onto Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, another island on the brink of extinction with. Alshaibi establishes that this recognition of geological interconnectedness and human interdependence is essential to addressing environmental issues. According to the artist, the story of water and desert is an enduring paradox and starting point for broader and philosophical readings that place mystical and historical importance on the natural world and point to our uncertain ecological future.
HATTON GALLERY - Department of Art and Art History
Sama Alshaibi
Sama Alshaibi was born in Basra to an Iraqi father and a Palestinian mother, Sama Alshaibi is based in the United States, where she is a Regents Chair of Photography, Video, and Imaging at the University of Arizona, Tucson. She holds a BA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago and an MFA in Photography, Video, and Media Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
This project is sponsored by a grant from the Lilla B. Morgan Memorial Endowment, a premier supporter of arts and culture at CSU.
Environmental Justice thru the Arts Series ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE THRU THE ARTS
The Clara Hatton Gallery, in partnership with the Center for Fine Art Photography, and the Center for Environmental Justice at CSU strives to engage the Northern Colorado community on issues around environmental justice, equity, and diversity.
The goal of this project is to create a series of exhibitions under the umbrella of Environmental Justice Thru the Arts to highlight discrepancies in equity and diversity in relation to environmental issues. Every year, the Hatton Gallery will host a new exhibition on the issue, in conjunction with environmental artists and scholars, which will spotlight how climate change affects various groups of people, especially minorities and the underprivileged.
Climate Change and Environmental Justice are issues that touch us all and affect all of our lives in a variety of ways. Combating climate change and its effects should be something we all strive for, but some are being left behind. Climate change has a more drastic impact on certain populations. This exhibition aims to showcase how we can address the inequities that climate change creates and how we can make a change.
Every edition of the series will cover a specific element of Environmental Justice: such as earth, water, wind, and fire.
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7 Sama Alshaibi: Silsila
Mā Lam Tabkī (Unless weeping), 2014
Diasec, 2.5 meters by 1.66 meters, unique 20x24” unframed
HATTON GALLERY - Department of Art and Art History
Silsila (Link), 2013
Diasec, 2.5 meters by 1.66 meters, unique
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Fātnis al-Jazīrah (Fantasy Island), 2014 from the series Silsila, Diesec. 2.5 meters by 1.66 meters, unique
HATTON GALLERY - Department of Art and Art History
Jarasun Yaqraʿ li-l-Mawt (Death knell), 2010; available as a paper print at 70x100 cm
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Wāḥat Siwā (The Siwa Oasis), 2013, Diesec. 2.5 meters by 1.66 meters, unique
Silsila - Installation shot
HATTON GALLERY
Visual Arts Building
Silsila - Installation shot
HATTON GALLERY
Visual Arts Building
Silsila - Installation shot
HATTON GALLERY
Visual Arts Building
HATTON GALLERY - Department of Art and Art History
Taʾshīr (Marking), 2010
Diesec. 2.5 meters by 1.66 meters, unique.
19 Sama Alshaibi: Silsila
Birket Siwa (Siwa Lake), 2014
Diesec. 2.5 Paper print at 70cmx100cm
HATTON GALLERY - Department of Art and Art History
Mare Mecca (Sea of Mecca), 2010
Diesec. 2.5 meters by 1.66 meters, unique. Or as a paper print at 70cmx100cm
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Sama Alshaibi: Silsila
Murūr (Passing), 2010 Paper print at 70cmx100cm
Noor (Illumination), 2013
Single-channel digital video with audio
6 minutes, 16 seconds.
HATTON GALLERY - Department of Art and Art History
lihya’ (revival), 2023
Single-channel digital video with audio
12minutes, 19 seconds.
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Silsila - Installation shot
Sama Alshaibi: SILSILA CHECKLIST
Mare Mecca (Sea of Mecca)
2014
Digital archival
44 x 32 inch
Mā Lam Tabkī (Unless Weeping)
2014
Digital archival
44 x 32 inch
Birkat Siwā (Siwa Lake)
2014
Digital archival
44 x 32 inch
Fātnis al-Jazīrah (Fantasy Island)
2014
Digital archival
44 x 32 inch
Jarasun Yaqra’ li-l-Mawt (Death Knell)
2010
Digital archival
44 x 32 inch
Iihya’ (Revival)
2023
Single-channel digital video with audio
12 minutes, 19 seconds
Wāḥat Siwā (The Siwa Oasis)
2013
Digital archival
44 x 32 inch
Noor (Illumination)
2013
Single-channel digital video with audio 6 minutes, 16 seconds
Taʾshīr (Marking)
2010
Digital archival 44 x 32 inch
Murūr (Passing)
2010
Digital archival 44 x 32 inch
Silsila (Link).
2014
Digital archival 44 x 32 inch
26
Sama Alshaibi: Silsila
Silsila - Installation shots HATTON GALLERY Visual Arts Building
Visual Arts Building Department of Art and Art History Colorado State University 551 W. Pitkin Street, Fort Collins, CO, 80523 hatton.colostate.edu