User:Wren12/gap analysis

Gap analysis
Princess Reem Mohammad Al Faisal
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Princess Reem Mohammad Al Faisal is a renowned photographer/writer and she deserves to have a page on Wikipedia dedicated to her. One of few times that is Al Faisal is mentioned in a Wikipedia article is solely by name on a list of artists who have showcased their art at the Salwa Zeidan Gallery in the United Arab Emirates. Al Faisal’s medium of non digital photography enables her to portray a sort of rawness and realism within her art. Although she doesn’t challenge patriarchy in an obvious way in her work she still manages to show the strength of women in her photography while portraying certain aspects of Saudi culture that is often misrepresented by Western culture. Al Faisal counteracts that misconception by portraying the Saudi women as strong and empowered being rather than oppressed and weak.

One could conclude that Al Faisal not having a Wikipedia page does correlate with the quality of her photography. Instead her lack of reconization it is due in part to the fact that she is a  non conformist feminist artist. Being a Saudi Muslim female, her point of view of the world and society is very unique but also very misunderstood by the West. Saudi womanhood is stigmatized and downplayed internationally and due to western ignorance and the restriction of female social and legal rights in Saudi Arabia. While Princess Reem Al Faisal’s art is not as recognized as Iranian photographer Shirin Neshat it is important to realize that her work also contributes to Muslim feminism. Reem Al Faisal’s art encases many scenes of womanhood and everyday life shaped by her culture and religion.


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Princess Reem Mohammed Al Faisal is the granddaughter of the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. Although she is known for being a member of the Royal Saudi Family she is also a renowned photographer and political activist/writer. As a native of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia her photography portrays everyday aspects of Saudi culture. Al Faisal uses her photography to show the beauty of Allah and her native country. In her words she states “ I like to define myself as a Muslim artist, sprung from my native Saudi culture and history. In my art I am seeking to show signs of the Divine in nature and in Man. For me, light is one of the many manifestations of God. Which He casts in our path through life to remind us of His constant presence in ourselves and in every place. Every photograph is a pattern of light and shade. For me, my photography is a way to praise God's glory in the universe”

In her youth, Princess Reem Mohammed Al Faisal graduated from Manarat High School in and then later studied Arabic Literature in King Abdul Aziz University. After her education in Saudi Arabia, Al Faisal then decided to pursue a career as a photographer at the Speos School in Paris. Presently, Al Faisal lives a transnational life living in both Paris FR and Jeddah SA while exhibiting her art internationally. She has exhibited her art at many prestigious galleries in France, Germany, Jordan, Spain, South Korea, Canada and Egypt. In addition to photography Al Faisal also is a published political writer contributing to various magazines and journals.

Al Faisal challenges the Western idea of what it means to be a Saudi woman. She portrays Saudi women as empowered by not conforming to the Western misconception that Saudi women are in dire need of help from the West. In various interviews Al Faisal recognizes that a lack of political and social rights not only affects women but also affects other marginalized populations within Saudi Arabia. In closing, Princess Reem Mohammed Al Faisal is an artist that represents Saudi culture in a way that doesn’t shame its preexisting matriarch but instead seeks to progress the social and legal rights of all marginalized populations.


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