MUHANNAD SHONO (B. 1977), 'PAGE I' FROM THE MONUMENTA SERIES

ink on paper laid in glass

49.5 by 76 cm. 19.5 by 29 ¾ in.

Framed: 63 by 90 cm. 24 ¾ by 35 ½ in.

Executed in 2016. 

Jeddah, Athr Gallery, Children of Yam (solo exhibition), 2016 

Muhannad Shono was born in Riyadh in 1977. He studied Architecture at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dammam (2000). His work explores concepts of non-belonging through a practice guided by storytelling. These explorations are informed by his own family’s history of forced migration and his interest in places abandoned and uninhabited. Unrestricted by scale, medium, concept or technology, he creates sculptures, drawings, robotics, among other media that draw upon cultural lore, spiritual texts, mythology and urban legends. He emphasises the importance of human imagination expressed as creative drive in his work, as it functions as an irrepressible force that allows the exploration of wide-spanning universal experiences. With a background in advertising, Shono’s work demonstrates a deft ability to communicate visual information in great clarity; moreover, his disfavour of colour informs his typical black, white and grey tonal choices. Much of Shono’s work makes use of the journey between light and shadow, or a meditation on the contrast between hard and soft to encourage considerations upon the movement of light that oscillates within the self. Shono was the representative for Saudi Arabia at the 22nd Venice Biennale (2022), where his all-black aesthetic became an emblem of the new generation of Saudi artists. Shono’s works are held in the collection of the Centre Georges Pompidou, France; the British Museum, London; the Art Jameel Foundation, Dubai, and more. He has been announced as a curator for the 2025 Islamic Arts Biennale.