نوف عبدالله الحمدان

I have had a genuine interest in media for a very long time; my particular interest is in filmmaking. Originally from Saudi Arabia, I was never able to address this interest academically back in 2003, and the reason behind that was the lack of a Media Department at institutions I studied. Since I began my studies in the MFA program at Penn State, I learned a lot about art practice, in particular the way it intersects with diverse cultural issues. I struggled with the definition of art for a while; part of that struggle was due to my background as an educator. It took me an extensive period of time to think objectively and to avoid being didactic, in order to give the viewer the chance to question my artwork and understand it based on his/her own perspective. I am still developing my way of thinking in order to meet the standards of the art field. Through my work in New Media, I have been able to draw attention to social and educational issues faced by women and people with special needs in the Saudi society. 20/20 was my first Artwork, which was the outcome of my 1st semester at Penn State. In that piece, I was inspired by a quote, "God Gave Me a 20/20 Fingers," which was made by a sightless boy in the movie Treasure Blind. Twisting the idea of treating special needs individuals as disabled, the 20/20 fingers video clip presents sightless people as those with an enhanced sense of hearing and touch. Sightless people are compared to owls and fish in terms of how they use their senses as they adapt to life, showing that they are SPECIAL and STRONG. The project is done using the Japanese technique of shadow puppets. I recognized after the critique of the 20/20 piece the way that messages could be embedded, and how that may help the viewer become engaged with the specific piece. In addition to being careful of using people with special needs, blind people specifically, as props of my project without giving them the chance to understand and be part of the work of art. Generating some ideas during the past semesters and receiving feedback from faculty members in different majors, helped me develop my understanding of important time periods of art history. The process of digesting feedback and learning by the failure of my ideas was the most interesting part in this journey. I look at myself, my way of thinking and the final outcome that I produce, and all that comes to mind is the tremendous transformation that is invading me in different ways. Moving to the 2nd year, it was crucial to develop my own voice as a foreigner female in the west, and that development started to happen by reading different books/articles. I felt that I was lost and isolated, I kept reading and trying to understand a lot of points that came and continue to come into conflict with my own beliefs and thoughts. Fortunately, the result of those books was visible in my new ideas and work. After noticing the reality of communication confusion while I am describing some of my ideas with others. I shifted my focus from producing artwork that targets children with special needs into thinking of a series of works under the umbrella of language and culture. I choose this theme because I think that lack of communication and understanding is most probably the reason of a lot of conflicts no matter how small or individual, or how big and globally they are. I wrote a GPS analogy with the title “Where am I?” the process of writing this story was one of the most emotional moments in my life. I recalled a lot of valuable memories, and it took me a lot of effort to decide what parts should I reveal in this story and what parts should remain private. Although the story was short, and simple, it had a huge impact on me. Being given the privilege to unclutter my thoughts by writing was a way that helped me overcome some communication issues, not only with people in United States but with family and friends back home as well. The GPS story turned out to be a metaphor that opened up new possibilities in talking about the issues that I am interested in, such as positionality, culture, gender, and globalization. And how those topics unfold other specific issues including but not limited to race and stereotype. I chose “Waiting For GPS Signal” as the title of my thesis exhibition. Under that title, art pieces will be categorized as the following: (Waiting,”G:Gender/Generation/Globalization”,”P: Positionality”,”S: System”, Signal). Every category is highlighting a variety of issues. For example, (waiting) will be the theme of the Heart Rate piece. Human beings tend to think about the future and wait for new events and actions that happen continuously, such as, the appearance of a partner, the possibility of being hired in a good job, the chance to live in peace. My conception in this piece is to expose moments of everyday life that tap into the viewer’s mind by using the title as a metaphor of life, and how it is related to waiting. M39y, Hitler was 220 and 3 Kherfan are the pieces that are under (G), their main focus is circulated around the concepts of masculinity and the patriarchal society” M39y”, stereotype in Saudi Arabia” Hitler was 220”. 3 Kherfan is critiquing the Egyptian revolution, and how the role of the Muslim brotherhood is invading the society’s rights under the name of religion. My art is a statement about my individual experience. As an artist, the thing that has changed recently is that my work deals with the concept of positionality. Positionality, as a project of reflection, starts by recognizing my own identity, my thoughts and my standpoint on some global crucial issues; consequently, much of my recent work exposes the propaganda on social and political issues with which we are surrounded all over the world. I make efforts in my recent work to experiment with the potential of a direct message to encourage people of different ethnicities and nationalities to open their minds to multiple readings on a culture that is becoming increasingly global.