Heritage 3

Multifaceted Qatari artist and designer Wadha Al Sulaiti focuses on local historical fashion worn by women and girls to highlight her cultural heritage, framing it within the contemporary context of shaping one’s identity.

In this mixed media artwork, she demonstrates her experimental approach by combining the techniques of collage and abstract painting. She utilises fabric of varying textures sewn together onto the canvas and a muted colour palette consisting of a range of shades.

The work references a traditional head-covering made from sheer black fabric with gold detailing. Through this composition, Al Sulaiti aligns herself with regional dynamics, by including Arabic calligraphy in black on a couple of the gold pieces of fabric attached to its surface. However, she references those dynamics more directly by including the Arabic word بخنق (bukhnaq) at its center. The bukhnaq is a garment worn exclusively by young girls in pre-modern Qatari society. Nowadays it is associated with cultural festivities (such as Qatar National Day and Garangao Night, which takes place in Ramadan).