Muhannad Shono Explores Displacement and Migration in Latest Exhibition

The first solo exhibition by the Saudi Arabian artist, Children of Yam, runs until December 15

Following the story of Noah’s four sons, Shem, Ham, Japhet and Yam, Children of Yam compares the journey of Yam to the reality of many refugees today who, like Yam travelled into the mountains to seek refuge, are displaced and forgotten.

In exploring themes of migration and displacement, Shono provides a profound and artistically enhanced commentary on the forces that drive people out of their lands and the rest of the world’s distant empathy with their tragedies. Shono contends that contemporary society is built on the notion that people all over the world share historical similarities when in reality, they have really forgotten the stories of the past that account for displacement and exile.

The exhibition comprises of works on a vast array of media, from paper and ink to polymer clay. Portraying the harsh reality of many communities today, Children of Yam depicts extradition and the restless human condition through both flat and sculptural work, in addition to an animate short film that tells a reoccurring story of migration and the floods people carry within them.

The exhibition is on show at ATHR gallery, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, RF Floor, Space 03 until December 15, 2016