Sultan bin Fahad's primary project, "Holy Economy," encompasses various sub-sections such as beaded tapestries, prayer rugs, the "Trust" project, and repurposed water containers. In "Holy Economy," he examines the commodification of Saudi Arabia's holy sites through installations and found objects. For instance, he collects discarded water containers used by pilgrims en route to Mecca, transforming them into ornate, culturally enriched artifacts that question their value between 'use' and 'waste'.
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“Trust” tackles issues of translation and the exchange of cultures. The title references the children’s game Chinese Whispers, where a story whispered from one to another is transformed into something else by the end. In the making of this piece, bin Fahad custom-ordered this chair from a beading workshop in West Africa. Sultan bin Fahad also found scarves made in India in the 1950s and 1960s that were originally used as souvenirs for pilgrims in Mecca. Bin Fahad sent out these scarves with images representing Mecca but which are full of mistranslations, to the African craftsmen, who were then asked to produce the beaded seats from the scarf renditions. While the emblems and motifs are from Saudi Arabia, the colours used are combinations associated with African culture. The artist is interested and even encourages these variations and cultural interpretations, bridging West Africa, West Asia and South Asia, and trust becomes the basis of these cross-cultural relations.
The installation ‘Loop’ consists of road signs from Mecca that the artist has been collecting. With the new roads that have been built these particular road signs have become obsolete, as these roads are no longer accessible by cars. In the middle of the room, is a row of mirrored display boxes set on pedestals with little plastic dancing and singing toys, several in each box, turned on, moving haphazardly. These toys are all made in China and absurdly reference Mecca; an airplane that sings out Islamic prayers with disco lights or a maharaja-like figure with a turban reading a Quran on a camel, weirdly edifying Orientalist tropes from the East to the East or cultural translations / misrepresentations. This work also alludes to the direct commodification of these holy sites.
The vintage prayer rugs, ubiquitous and utilitarian mass produced carpets sold at markets near Mecca, over time became collectible souvenirs attributed to the holiest city of Islam. The combination of the traditional craft object with a hypermodern material like bright neon, transforms the finished work into something entirely contemporary and conceptual – a tangible visualization of the deep connection between one’s private ruminations and the personal meanings we attribute to objects and artifacts over time.
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The beaded tapestry, which at first glance looks like several mosques, in fact shows the Taj Mahal – an iconic mausoleum in Agra, India, often mistaken for a mosque due to its architecture. The artist worked with an acquaintance in West Africa to produce the beaded works and to pick the design. The process and design highlights the intersections between Islamic expression, material culture, and global iconography and economy.
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