Between Desert Seas (2021) interweaves the factual with the spiritual and focuses on the Arabian Sea hump-back whale – an endangered species with only about a hundred remaining members. For over 70,000 years, a population of nonmigratory whales has lived in the Arabian Sea in relative isolation, developing a distinct local cetacean culture with its own language, songs and habits that differ from those of humpback whales elsewhere.
Through its narrative, the installation establishes parallels between the journey of the prophet Yunus (Jonah) who was swallowed by a whale and the routes of the Arabian Sea humpback whales. The work’s sculptural component, meanwhile, hinges on the materiality of white salt. To source it, Zedani travelled to Lake Tuz and the salt quarries of Nevşehir, collaborating with local salt mines for research and production. In the context of this work, salt is an allusion to hypersalinity, a pressing ecological issue in the Arabian Sea. The salt is shaped into ‘grief objects’ reminiscent of tombstones found in sites across the peninsula. Merging spiritual and ecological concerns, Zedani’s work reflects on environmental collapse, matrilineal transmission of culture and the impact of desalination technologies on marine ecosystems.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Ayman Zedani (b. 1984, Abha) currently lives and works between Riyadh and Sharjah. His research-based practice uses spiritual ecology, science fiction and new materialist philosophies to create immersive installations that blend fact and fiction. His work aims to rehabilitate the human-earth relationship, recover memory and reimagine the future of the Arabian Peninsula while addressing ecological concerns. His solo exhibition bahar-bashar-shajar-hajar (sea-human-tree-stone) took place at the Athr Gallery, Jeddah, in 2019. Zedani’s works have also been exhibited at the 16th Sharjah Biennial (2025); Arabofuturs (Arabofutures), Institut du monde arabe, Paris (2024); the inaugural editions of both the Islamic Arts Biennale, Jeddah (2023) and Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale (2021); the 2nd Lahore Biennale (2020).
EXHIBITED WORKS
Ayman Zedani (b. 1984)
Between Desert Seas, 2021
9 audio channels, salt, gauze, benches
Variable dimensions
Commissioned by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation
Contributors: Environment Society of Oman, Suaad Al Harthi, Olivia Dalziel, Andy Wilson, Robert Baldwin, Gianna Minton, Darryl MacDonald, Tim Collins, Aida Al Jaberi, Elayne Looker, Sal Cerchio, Ernie Indradat, Wided Khadraoui, Maia Willson, Nour Alrefaie, and Bridget St. John
Courtesy of the artist
