Bio: 

As long as I can remember I have been a woman and artist. Enraptured by techniques, I graduated in Product Design (The Netherlands), after, Art-Photography (Belgium), in between propaedeutic in Art History (Amsterdam), and later in life, I took courses in medieval painting techniques (in China and in Portugal). Enjoying Saudi Arabia’s vibrant society so much and convinced that The Kingdom has all the elements to become the next artist's hub on par with Berlin and the like, I choose to live and work in Jeddah

Artist Statement: 

At the time ruffs, crimped or pleated, wide and full, were the fashion by both men and women. Their placement around the neck affected posture, forcing the wearer to keep their chin up and assume a proud and haughty pose: they were a potent symbol of status and wealth. e.g. 1634, Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of Aechje Claesdr. 

‘Double Dutch' is a photography series portraying self-proclaimed men wearing ruffs, a string of sanitary pads which are a symbol of female fertility, throttled around their necks. 'Al Johara’s photographs take us back centuries, her images which focus on the expressions and features of a group of young people and successfully showcase her creative ingenuity. Specifically, Al Johara is able to capture the essence of her subjects and their gazes which force us to consider the stories behind their eyes, the stories that recount, complain, love, adulate, titillate and whisper. Her photos that focus on the gaze of young people often engage the concept of biological sex, that which is not chosen but accompanies us from birth to death.