حالة لعب | A State of Play. 2014
PERFORMANCE BASED VIDEO SERIES
A State of Play is an ongoing meta-performance-based video series that explores representations and meanings through body movement, adopting the politics of play to envision alternative ways of being witnessed. It challenges preconceived notions of womanhood, identity, and public exposure by combining the hoop, essentially a child’s toy, with the figure of a veiled woman, a prominent cultural signifier of womanhood in Saudi Arabia. This juxtaposition collapses time and space, bringing forth the child and the adult to exist in the present moment, fully integrated as one. This new entity exudes flow and freedom within the boundaries and limitations of a circle, foreshadowing the shift in attitude towards entertainment in Saudi Arabia and highlighting play as a methodology for cultural transformation.
The lack of public spaces in Riyadh motivated Al Rashed to explore the internet and social media platforms as democratic spaces of equal visibility for all. She utilized online communities for direct engagement, leveraging the subversiveness of anonymity and ambiguity with direct feedback and real-time responses to enact the tensions of witnessing. A State of Play (2014) series of video performances published on her Instagram became a viral sensation. In 2016, a video from the series was featured on Instagram’s official account, generating over 5 million views and making Al Rashed the first Saudi artist to be featured on the platform.
Through these frameworks, Al Rashed explored the dynamics of power with her audience, producing artwork that primarily utilized temporary expression to engage the gaze. Despite the success, her prolific Instagram account was permanently terminated in December 2018 due to its expressive artistic nature.
‘A State of Play’ playfully challenged preconceived notions of womanhood, identity, and exposure. This series created tension between what was regarded as acceptable and unacceptable, threatening a system of inscribed cultural meanings that were still prevalent at the time. The first video from this series went viral within hours of going live. Interestingly, the reaction was not critical. Instead, people took it lightly, sharing it widely and creating their own edits and memes. The work was consumed as a harmless form of entertainment, with many having fun with it. The anonymity of the author and the unknown origin of the video added an intriguing layer of ambiguity. This anonymity led many to perceive the gesture as psychologically innocent, further contributing to its widespread appeal and engagement.
In 2016, Instagram featured a video from the series “A State of Play,” propelling it to global prominence with over 5 million views on Instagram alone. This milestone marked the first time a Saudi artist was showcased on Instagram’s official account. The response to the viral video series placed it at a threshold of polarities—between praise and criticism, and between what’s considered appropiate and inapproriate. This was followed by a wave of assumptions about the true meaning of the artwork. The niqab/veil, central to the video, is a uniquely intriguing garment. How can a single black piece of fabric restrict and allow, empower and oppress, protect and expose, all at once? This ambiguity enabled the niqab to perform invisibility, transforming the work into a viral meme. It was copied, reproduced, manipulated, degraded, diluted, misrepresented, and entirely taken out of context. The lack of absolute control on the internet led to unintended and unforeseen results, contributing to the deterioration of the artwork’s representation and authority.
