Home has never been a single place for me. I grew up by the Red Sea in Jeddah, a coastal city in Saudi Arabia, yet my family's roots lie in the mountains of Al-Baha in the southern region of the country, which has always remained part of my identity through the traditions, music, and stories passed down to me.
This artwork was sparked by a small ring depicting Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night, which I brought with me from Saudi Arabia and have worn every day since leaving home. It became a reminder that even across continents, I could continue carrying home with me wherever I go.
As a DPhil student in astrophysics, The Starry Night has always spoken to me in two ways. Its sky reminds me of the night sky above Jeddah, where my love for astronomy started. Yet its swirling movement reminds me just as strongly of the Red Sea, where I spent countless evenings walking along the Corniche, Jeddah's waterfront, listening to the waves meeting the shore.
At the heart of the stars are jinehat, golden coin ornaments traditionally embroidered onto Saudi dresses, headpieces, and furnishings, and worn especially in the south. One of these stars replaces Van Gogh's Venus with Jupiter, whose bright presence in Jeddah's winter night sky first drew me toward astronomy. Along the starry swirls are misbaha (prayer beads) collected from Jeddah's historic Al-Balad, the old town, carried in Saudi culture as symbols of faith, comfort, and protection.
Rising from the shoreline are landmarks of Jeddah's skyline, which I included to reflect the rapid modernization Saudi Arabia is experiencing today. Palm trees line the land, the country's national tree and the ones I grew up among. I rendered their dates as bright gemstones to mirror the generosity of the land and their significance in our culture.
The mountains themselves are inspired by the Divisionist landscapes of Giovanni Segantini. I was drawn to his fragmented brushwork because the movement of each stroke resembles a fingerprint. For me, these marks became a metaphor for the traces people leave upon the land they love, especially in the Al-Baha mountains, which are part of the Sarawat range, the longest and highest in the Arabian Peninsula.
The lower half of the work explores home through landscape, tradition, and memory. Shells collected from the Red Sea sit alongside pages from my high school diary, many written after evenings spent by the Corniche with family and friends. The pages are stained with Saudi coffee, recalling conversations that unfolded over coffee while looking out across the sea.
Along the lower left, I translated the rhythm of the folk song ظامني البرد ("Thamani Albard"), which translates to "The Cold Has Taken Hold of Me," into a visual pattern, mapping each beat to a southern Saudi architectural motif. It is a traditional folk song and group dance performed by the people of Al-Baha. Its opening verses tell of someone overcome by the mountain cold until another lights a fire to warm them, symbolizing hospitality, generosity, and belonging in the highlands where my extended family lived and worked. The song accompanied countless family celebrations throughout my childhood, and hearing it today transports me straight back to moments of joy and togetherness. Through the link below, you can watch and hear it performed by the Saudi National Orchestra, much as I remember it from home.
This work is dedicated to my grandfather, a literary scholar who encouraged and nurtured my love of art even after I chose a career in science. When I first imagined this piece, he was among the first people I told, and he was deeply excited to see it come to life. He passed away this past June, before he could see it finished. Along its edges are the words "يا أعز الناس" ("the dearest of all people"), the phrase he always called me by. I wanted those words to quietly surround the artwork, just as his warmth and encouragement still surround me. The phrase carries a wider meaning as well, home is not only the place we leave behind, but the people dearest to our hearts, who remain with us wherever we go.
Link to video of the Thamani Albard, "The Cold Has Taken Hold of Me”, southern folk Saudi dance performed by the National Saudi Orchestra:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz2l_snL6lU&list=RDOz2l_snL6lU&start_radio=1