Colour, Culture, and Identity: The Art of Sarah Al Agroobi

Sarah Al Agroobi stands as an artist whose works span geographical and cultural borders, forging a popular and energetic debate between both Middle Eastern and Western societies. With the work in her latest collection, ‘Glitch, Time, Repent,’ she mixes acrylic layers to produce some powerful, colourful statements about issues of identity and post-colonialism. Drawing from her experiences at the Royal College of Art and as a co-founder of the Arab Art Salon, Sarah’s approach allows for a more complex capturing of the whitewashing, and changing cultural scenario of the Arab region.

Sarah Al Agroobi is a multidisciplinary artist, researcher, and educator whose work immerses in the convergence of culture, identity, and belonging. All the more reason to believe that Sarah, having completed her MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art in London, has understood the post-colonial discourse on so very fundamental a level to gaze into the interplay between Middle Eastern and Western communities. Her art speaks to issues such as whitewashing, themes that implicate the constrictions of identity in a post-colonial world. Born of a multicultural heritage, Sarah’s identity is deeply rooted in equal parts of the influences: Arab and Western. This clash is reflected in the kind of artworks she creates, whereby she deconstructs and assembles ideas on belonging. The Royal College of Art in London was where she honed her skills in presenting such ideas as she still trained in classical painting techniques while combining them with modern conceptual approaches.

It can be seen in this latest series, ‘Glitch, Time, and Repent’. In using acrylic through an innovative layering process, Sarah develops explosions of colour to delineate both visual statement and cultural critique. The works are loud, expressive, and confrontational but make one think about presuppositions about identity and representation. The “glitch” in this title also serves as the disruption of fragmented or misunderstood identities within a world becoming quickly globalized.

One of the key influences of her production within the contemporary art landscape is the role she plays as a co-founder of the Arab Art Salon, a collective, open space that brings together Arab artists for discussion on the changing cultural and artistic landscapes in the region. The Salon has, among others become one of the most important collaboration and dialogue platforms focused on how Arab artists might reclaim distorted narratives presented by Western media and artistic traditions. The Arab Art Salon is that unified space offering the possibility of meeting and producing works on the issues of the day in our life. Sarah believes that the space creates community, enabling the artists to voice their cultural identities on their terms. To Sarah, the collaborative space becomes not only a means of artistic expression but a space for preserving one’s culture. Discourses, exhibitions and forums-public all get teased through what it means to be an Arab artist in this world Sarah and her peers discuss.

Sarah Al Agroobi’s quest into the culture is not limited to the visual art. She founded The Letters Project, an online platform designed to collect and publish anonymous letters from individuals across the Arab region. These letters are an intimate exposure to anthropology and socio-cultural context in the Middle East. The issues, such as identity, dislocation, or a sense of belonging, receive undiluted opinions. The Letters Project is a reflection of Sarah’s dedication to exploring personal and collective narratives. Having enlisted contributions from anonymous writers, the project lets people narrate their experiences and sufferings, revealing the complexities of life in the Arab world. For Sarah, this is not about archiving all these stories but to create a space for free expressions of culture-with no censor or interference from outside.

As an important figure in present-day Arab art, the art works of Sarah Al Agroobi appeared at various international exhibitions and exhibitions in many world-famous exhibition halls. She has taken part in Somerset House in London, Versus Art Project in Istanbul, Salone del Mobile in Milan, and other more modest venues across the region, including Dubai’s Art, Abu Dhabi Art, and Warehouse421.