ABDULLAH ALI AL SHALTI (B. 1952), CIRCUMAMBULATION AROUND THE KA'ABA

signed and dated Shalti 1432 (AH) in Arabic (lower left); inscribed in Arabic (to the reverse)

acrylic on canvas mounted on panel  

121.5 by 180 cm. 47 ¾ by 71 in.

Executed in 1432 AH/2010-2011 AD.

Abdullah Ali Al Shalti was born in the south-western town of Abha in 1952. This mountainous region, located by the Yemeni border, is characterised by a dramatic geography and specific architecture which influenced the young Al Shalti. Continuing his studies in both Riyadh and Al Khobar, Shalti was encouraged by his teachers to pursue fine arts and was part of the Ministry of Education’s Youth Programme, which enabled him to obtain a diploma in the Department of Art. Salman Abbas Al Delaimi and Shakir Hassan Al Said (also a formative figure in the career of Ahmed Mater) were two significant Iraqi artists who played an integral role in Al Shalti’s experience. 

The present work is characteristic of the artist’s oeuvre and signature style, employing small, Pointillist mark-making, richly applied to produce an Impressionistic image. Both Mecca and Medina were subjects that he often conjured, and in the present work, Al Shalti recalls the act of circumambulation around the most sacred site in Islam – the Ka’aba. Beneath the flecked impasto, the integral structure of the Ka’aba remains easily discernible through its monumentality. This work makes direct reference to the dynamic, unified act of circling the Ka’aba while supplicating to Allah.