CNN published Don't pigeonhole us, say Saudi women artists on 8 October 2011, a report on two Saudi artists, the photographer Reem Al Faisal and the abstract artist Lulwah Al Homoud, who felt caught between conservative attitudes at home and Western critics expecting their work to address women's rights.
The article introduces Al Homoud as a single mother who brought up her two sons in London and creates abstract art, often geometric drawings in black and white. She tells CNN that people give female Saudi artists more attention because of a stereotype, "and I think what we are doing is changing this stereotype." Her work includes Infinite Square, in which she uses the word Allah to create geometric shapes and lines connecting the artist to a timeless world unlimited by borders, and she describes her work as spiritual rather than tied to a moment, place or event. The report notes that both artists, along with other Saudi artists, had shown in Nabatt, an exhibition of modern Saudi art in Shanghai the previous year and more recently in Beirut, and places their comments in the context of King Abdullah's announcement that women would be able to join the Shura Council and stand in municipal elections.
Lulwah Al Homoud's practice bridges heritage and innovation through script, geometry and abstraction. Her work is held by the British Museum and LACMA, and she received the Saudi National Award for Visual Arts in 2021. She is represented by Tabari.
