Heba Jasmi showcases artistic eveningwear at Dubai Fashion Week
Updated 04 September 2024
Hams Saleh
DUBAI: Emirati brand Heba Jasmi showcased its Spring/Summer 2025 collection, titled “State of Art,” at Dubai Fashion Week on Tuesday.
The collection featured a striking combination of lace, abstract embroidered prints, pastel hues and saturated colors. Key elements included exaggerated circular silhouettes and artfully embroidered semi-sheer fabric, while the color palette ranged from sea blue to sandy tones punctuated by a few coral-colored and lilac gowns.
In an interview with Arab News, Sharina Al-Falasi, the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of the label, shared insights about the brand’s latest presentation.
Look 1. (Supplied)
“It draws inspiration from the dramatic hues and structures observed in nature, culture and human artifacts, translating these elements into fashion,” Al-Falasi explained.
The brand, which launched in 2019, has so far released four collections and recently ventured into couture creations, a primary objective from the outset.
Look 2. (Supplied)
Al-Falasi also discussed the brand’s vision for its ready-to-wear line, emphasizing its appeal for women who prioritize sophisticated sartorial choices in their daily lives.
“It is designed for ambitious women, whether she’s changing the world through a successful career or focused on taking care of her family, she needs something on the go that can inspire her and set her apart from the crowd,” Al-Falasi said.
Look 3. (Supplied)
“We believe that women in the Middle East, and globally, seek inspiring and beautifully designed dresses,” she noted. “Our passion is to create unique pieces, which drives the core of our label. We stand out because of our commitment to quality and craftsmanship, blending structure with feminine cuts.”
Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the team at Heba Jasmi used the period to refine their creative vision and rethink their organizational structure.
“We turned what could have been a major setback into an opportunity for growth and development,” Al-Falasi said.
Saudi-Spanish artist Hana Maatouk discusses her debut solo show ‘Worlds Within’
‘I’ve been dabbling with the fantastical,’ says Hana Maatouk
Updated 34 sec ago
Nada Alturki
RIYADH: Saudi-Spanish artist Hana Maatouk loves giving gifts. As a child, she presented each member of her family with a comic, abstract doodle that she felt embodied them. “I would narrate my feelings or my response to an event through images,” she tells Arab News.
Now, her work has drawn crowds in New York to her first solo show, the conclusion of a four-month residency with downtown art space Chinatown Soup.
Through her work, Maatouk explores Saudi Arabia’s evolving socio-political landscape and her personal memories of growing up there. In that solo exhibition, “Worlds Within,” which took place at NYC Culture Club last month, Maatouk used memory not as the main narrative, but as a way to examine the present.
"Memory from Omra," 2022. (Supplied)
“Initially, I thought I was going to archive my personal memory and make fantastical images based on my personal narrative. But when I started, I realized that my fascination with memory actually goes beyond myself,” she said.
“Worlds Within” was part of “Within Reach” — a show encompassing a number of exhibitions celebrating the 2024 class of undergraduate visual arts students from Columbia University, where Maatouk studied, and Barnard College. Maatouk’s vibrant, surrealist work was heavily inspired by the 12th-century Andalusian mystic Ibn Arabi and his philosophical concept of divine time and space.
During her residency at Chinatown Soup, Maatouk intended to create a picture for every significant memory she has, even if it was just a quick sketch. And what she realized in the process was that her relationship to memory is very much rooted in emotions and images rather than language.
"The Rocks Are Witness," 2024. (Supplied)
She came into her residency with the work she had created for her thesis, in which the predominant color was a bold red. Her later works slowly developed out of that, and even referenced the doodles she had made as a child.
One piece, a drawing in charcoal, is a depiction of her memory of Umrah, which she performed with her father and brother when she was around 12 years old. There are no photographs of their trip, so the painting was purely based on her memory. “I still recall the feeling of the white tile beneath my feet. Our pace. My eyes observing, witnessing,” she says. “When I showed that picture to my brother, he was like, ‘Yeah, that’s how I felt it as well.’”
This piece became “significant in the development of my visual language,” she adds, “because of the fleeting figures. If you look towards the top and the peripheries, the ‘figure’ turns into a simple arc, which becomes a unit on its own. Visually, I reduced the information down to the most basic cell that could still represent a figure but also carry many meanings in its abstraction.”
"In Two," 2025. (Supplied)
In her discussions with others about her work, a recurring theme was just how unreliable memories can be. This led the artist to explore other questions, such as why we define memory based on what it is not.
“It’s almost like we’ve pitted memory against fact and made it unreliable in its definition. But what if its power is that it can transcend time and space — that it exists, actually, outside of those two things? It incorporates those two things. But it exists beyond them. It’s timeless,” she says.
Hana Maatouk. (Supplied)
While the show consists mainly of paintings, Maatouk has trained in many mediums, including sculpture, installation, printmaking, and photography. “I don’t have one particular medium that is ‘it’ forever, I think it’s just a matter of what language fits the idea that I’m working with,” she says. “With painting, most recently, I’ve been dabbling with the fantastical, the fictional, and the mythological, because painting, in its essence, is an illusion. You’re making three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional plane. It already has elements of the fantastical embedded in it. So, when I was writing these narratives about the changes I was observing in Saudi Arabia, it made sense to do it in painting.”
As the daughter of a Saudi father and Spanish mother, Maatouk says there are aspects of her cultural background, history, and perspective that she’s eager to translate through her work. The challenge is taking these elements outside of their cultural realm to new audiences.
“My audience (for the latest exhibition was) a New York audience, and actually, at the opening, my friend Sarah, who’s American, brought a friend to the show, and I asked her which piece resonated, and she pointed to the one of Umrah,” she says.
“What makes a good work for me… I think about it in terms of an emotional transfer. I love to see the work resonating with people in an emotional way, where they feel like something in them was seen in the work.”
Chef Michael Mina opens his first restaurant in Saudi Arabia
The acclaimed chef on the launch of Taleed and getting back to his Middle Eastern roots
Updated 16 min 15 sec ago
Hams Saleh
RIYADH: Egyptian-born American celebrity chef Michael Mina has brought his culinary expertise to Saudi Arabia with the opening of Taleed by Michael Mina in Diriyah.
Located in Bab Samhan hotel, the restaurant, which opened this month, marks a long-desired expansion for the celebrated chef, who has been eager to build on his presence in the region.
“I really have wanted to be more present in the Middle East because this is very much tied to my roots and what I grew up with and what I grew up eating,” Mina told Arab News. “When this opportunity came, it just felt new and fresh, especially given where I’m at in my career.”
Located in Bab Samhan hotel, the restaurant, which opened this month, marks a long-desired expansion for the celebrated chef, who has been eager to build on his presence in the region. (Supplied)
Mina, who was born in Cairo and raised in the US, recalled growing up in a household filled with the aromas of Middle Eastern cuisine. “My mother had eight aunts and uncles,” he said. “Every weekend there’d be 30 people at a home, and the table would be filled with food.”
This early exposure led him to discover his passion for cooking.
“My first job was in a restaurant. I started as a dishwasher and then started cooking and I fell in love with it,” he said. “I really enjoyed everything from the creative part to the hospitality part. And as I started to understand it a little bit more, by the time I was 16, I knew it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Charcoal grilled Australian tamohawk. (Supplied)
“But it took two years to explain that to my parents,” he added with a laugh. “It was doctor, lawyer, engineer... A cook wasn’t one of the choices. So it took two years and then I finally convinced them.”
It hasn’t worked out badly so far. Mina’s eponymous flagship San Francisco restaurant has earned a Michelin star, he’s cooked for three US presidents, and he is a multiple James Beard award winner.
Chef Alex Griffiths, vice president of culinary for Mina Group, played a key role in shaping the concept for the Riyadh restaurant, ensuring it reflects both the Mina Group’s expertise and traditional Saudi flavors.
Passion fruit labneh cheesecake. (Supplied)
“We came to Saudi more than 55 times in the past four or five years to really understand the food heritage,” Griffiths told Arab News. "One of the things we wanted to focus on was how to represent both Mina Group and Chef Mina, while incorporating influences from the Hijazi side of the Kingdom.”
The menu at Taleed features dishes that reflect this fusion, including shrimp kabsa, spice-marinated yellowtail, and a unique tuna falafel inspired by Mina’s mother’s recipe.
“We’re using sushi-grade tuna and almost treating it like nigiri, where the falafel is at the bottom and the tuna is dressed on top with Egyptian salad,” explained Griffiths.
Taleed by Michael Mina in Diriyah. (Supplied)
Looking ahead, Mina sees Taleed as part of Saudi Arabia’s growing culinary movement. “I think the Saudi food scene is going to explode,” he said. “You start to see more and more innovation, but that innovation stays rooted here as well as (in the) different cuisines coming in.”
For now, his focus is on establishing Taleed as a must-visit dining destination. “It’s always important to get yourself established before looking at doing more,” Mina said.
When asked what he hopes guests will feel when they visit Taleed, he said: “I think when you do a restaurant right, the thing that I love the most is when you sit at a table and everyone looks around the table and says, ‘I’ve got to come back and have that dish.’ That is the best form of flattery that you can ever get.”
Netflix drama is based on a shocking real-life story
Updated 26 min 59 sec ago
Matt Ross
LONDON: At the start of each of the six episodes of “Apple Cider Vinegar,” one of the main characters looks directly into the camera and says: “This is a true story based on a lie.” It’s a quick way of getting viewers up to speed with the tale of a pair of young Australian women, Belle Gibson (Kaitlyn Dever) and Milla Blake (Alycia Debnam-Carey), who dominated the early days of Instagram and were at the forefront of the emergence of the online wellness movement.
Kaitlyn Dever as Belle in 'Apple Cider Vinegar.' (Supplied)
Belle (a real person) and Milla (based on entrepreneur Jessica Ainscough) both espouse the use of alternative healing therapies to beat their own cancer diagnoses, and as a result garner massive online followings during the nascent days of influencer culture. The kicker, however, is that Milla’s cancer is very real, and very documented, while Belle’s is quite the opposite. Acknowledging this from the very first episode, director Jeffrey Walker smartly levels the playing field — whether you’re familiar with the real-world story or not, the secret at the center of Belle’s web of lies, and the business empire that was built upon it, adds a dramatic heft and sense of satisfying inevitability to “Apple Cider Vinegar,” even as the show’s timeline leaps forward and backwards with abandon.
In addition to following Belle and Milla, the show also focuses on Lucy — a cancer patient who is one of Belle’s most ardent followers — and Chanelle, Milla’s friend who later becomes Belle’s assistant. But Walker never strays far from the central conceit: Belle’s fascinating and horrifying propensity to lie her way into more trouble knows no bounds, and no lie is too extreme for a young woman who is clearly very troubled.
Kaitlyn Dever as Belle in 'Apple Cider Vinegar.' (Supplied)
Dever deftly avoids painting Belle as a pantomime villain, but also leans into the malice bubbling just beneath the personable surface. Debnam-Carey’s Milla is an altogether different part — while there’s no subterfuge, there is a frighteningly naïve lack of understanding of the power Milla wields over family and followers.
“Apple Cider Vinegar” relies on its powerhouse leads, but it’s also a carefully considered cautionary tale that recounts a fascinating period of our recent history. It’s concise, hard-hitting and, having emerged with very little fanfare, reminiscent of the best Netflix sleeper hits.
ISLAMABAD: Among the many forgotten relics dotting the vast spread of the Potohar Plateau in northern Punjab is the Rawat Fort, which stands as a silent witness to centuries of history in what is this part of present-day Pakistan.
The fort lies about 18 kilometers east of the garrison city of Rawalpindi on the Grand Trunk Road highway and is believed to have been built in the 15th or 16th centuries during the Delhi Sultanate period.
There are many legends about the fort’s founding and its purpose. According to Pakistan’s Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM), the fort, which derives is named from the Arabic word rabat meaning caravanserai, was built as an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and caravans passing through the strategic location of Rawat, at the crossroads of trade routes and a gateway to Kashmir and Central Asia.
Some historians, however, believe the fort was built in 1036 AD by Sultan Masood, the son of Sultan Mehmood Ghaznavi, the head of the Ghaznavid Empire who ruled from 998 to 1030 AD and who had at the time of his death raised an extensive military empire that extended from northwestern Iran proper to the Punjab in the Indian subcontinent, Khwarazm in Transoxiana, and Makran. Other historical accounts say the fort was built by Sultan Sarang Khan Gakhar, the chief of the Gakhar tribes who was made ruler of the Pothohar Plateau by Mughal emperor Babar in 1520.
Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Lone, a director at DOAM which is restoring the monument, told Arab News Rawat Fort was one of many hidden relics near the Pakistani capital of Islamabad and its main attraction was a central courtyard that housed the ruined graves of Sultan Sarang and a number of his sons who died fighting Sher Shah Suri, the ruler of Bihar from 1530 to 1540 and Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 until his death in 1545. In fact, the area in which the fort is located is known as a key battleground between the Gakhar tribe and Suri.
“Tatar Khan had two sons, Sarang Khan and Adam Khan,” Lone explained. “Islam Shah, who was the son of [emperor] Sher Shah Suri, when he fought Sarang Khan, Sarang Khan was killed in battle. Sarang Khan and his 12-13 sons were also killed.”
This photo, taken on February 7, 2025, shows aerial view of the Pakistani archaeological site Rawat Fort in Potohar region, in northern Punjab, Pakistan. (AN Photo)
Adam Khan recovered the bodies, the archaeologist said, and built a tomb in their honor inside Rawat Fort.
Indeed, the structure has witnessed the rise and fall of many empires and military commanders. The building’s strategic importance led to its inclusion in the Mughal defensive line against invaders from the North-West. The fort’s location on the route used by Mughal emperors traveling to Kashmir for pleasure and strategic purposes also cemented its importance.
In the early 19th century, Sikh forces led by Sardar Milkha Singh captured Rawat Fort, and under Sikh rule, the fort underwent significant renovations and expansions. But the British annexation of Punjab in 1849 marked the beginning of the fort’s decline as the British no longer saw it as strategically essential. Over time, the once-imposing structure fell into disrepair.
This photo, taken on February 7, 2025, shows the Pakistani archaeological site Rawat Fort in Potohar region, in northern Punjab, Pakistan. (AN Photo)
“It has been used throughout the ages,” Dr. Tahir Saeed, an archaeologist and visiting professor at the Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, told Arab News.
“During the Sher Shah Suri period, it was used as a port for the Mughals … The caravans passing through GT Road used it as a port. It was an important place from a strategic point of view … After the Mughal period, the Sikhs came here and used it as a stable or court.” RESTORATION
The management of Rawat Fort shifted from the federal government to the Punjab provincial government due to administrative changes in 2010 after a constitutional amendment devolved power to the provinces. The transition period from 2011 to 2017 saw significant encroachment, according to the DOAM, until the monument was returned to the department in 2017.
The fort, a quadrangular monument with three main gates, has several small cells that used to be rented out to merchants, and which are now undergoing restoration by authorities, as well as a mosque with three domes. The main attraction is the tomb of Sarang Khan, built by his brother Adam Khan who assumed leadership of the tribe and became the next Gakhar chief after 1546.
This photo, taken on February 7, 2025, shows entrance gate of the Pakistani archaeological site Rawat Fort in Potohar region, in northern Punjab, Pakistan. (AN Photo)
“We try our maximum effort to maintain the authenticity of our monuments and artifacts,” said Lone.
“You can do conservation, preservation and restoration. But we don’t reconstruct them. We try to restore the material that has been used for the original construction. Wherever it is available, we bring and use it or if it is lying there, we restore it.”
At the last stage of the restoration, he added, the ruined graves would be restored so “that people can understand that there is a grave of Sarang Khan in it and all his sons who were martyred are buried here.”
Pakistan has six UNESCO heritage sites and 25 which are on a tentative list, according to Lone. Rawat Fort is not on either list but when it achieves the status of a UNESCO heritage site, it would boost tourism in the area and also lead to better upkeep, he added.
This photo, taken on February 7, 2025, shows aerial view of the Pakistani archaeological site Rawat Fort in Potohar region, in northern Punjab, Pakistan. (AN Photo)
The archaeologist stressed the need for a sense of “shared ownership” of monuments and historical sites by the government and members of the public to help preserve them for generations to come.
“This is our heritage. We all have to take ownership of it,” Lone said. “Only if we take ownership of it can we protect it.”
Saeed, the archaeology professor, also called for more government funding.
“The government will have to set priorities,” he said.
“They will have to provide maximum funding and continuous funding so that conservation work on sites, archaeological sites, monuments and heritage sites can continue.”
Sculpting stories: An exhibition of bronze artistry
Exhibit showcased Iraqi culture in Riyadh
Art should reflect the myriad experiences of life, says sculptor
Updated 12 February 2025
Hind AlKhunaizi
RIYADH: Three artists have brought an exhibition of bronze sculptures showcasing the history and culture of Iraq to Riyadh.
From Feb. 3 to 12, the Mahd Alfnon Gallery, located in the Al-Mousa Center in Riyadh and owned by the visual artist and sculptor Mahdia Al-Taleb, hosted the exhibition, titled “7x3 Experiences in Iraqi Sculpture.”
It featured the sculptures of three prominent Iraqi artists — Redha Farhan, Haythem Hassan and Najm Al-Qaysi — who each presented seven bronze sculptures.
The exhibition showcased the innovative and expressive aspects of contemporary Iraqi sculpture, uncovering the cultural narratives that influence their art.
Each artist brought a distinctive perspective to their work, reflecting both personal and shared experiences.
Redha Farhan, from Baghdad, combines animal forms with human figures in his striking sculptures.
His sculptures depict ducks, giraffes and camels, intricately woven into narratives that highlight his meticulous attention to detail.
“My work is deeply rooted in Iraq’s rich history, inspired by ancient artifacts and the stories they tell,” Farhan told Arab News.
The textured bronze pieces evoke authenticity and emotional depth, inviting viewers to connect with his homeland.
The second artist, Haythem Hassan, adds another layer of depth to the exhibition with his playful yet meaningful sculptures.
Graduating with a diploma in sculpture from the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad, Hassan’s work includes elements such as flowers, birds and imaginative figures that highlight a blend of imagination and reality.
“Art should reflect the myriad experiences of life; it’s a dialogue between the work and the viewer,” he said. “Through my sculptures, I aim to provoke emotions and encourage viewers to reflect on their own journeys.”
This focus on connection and interpretation is key to Hassan’s artistic philosophy, aimed at sparking conversations about the human experience.
Najm Al-Qaysi, known for his creative use of both bronze and stainless steel, displayed lively sculptures that incorporate balloon-like shapes.
This playful quality, combined with bronze’s heaviness, results in pieces that feel both solid and light.
“I want my work to challenge perceptions of reality,” Al-Qaysi said. “By blending playful colors and forms, I invite viewers to experience a sense of wonder and introspection.”
He believes that sculpture should evoke strong feelings, encouraging audiences to engage emotionally with each piece.
Al-Taleb, inspired by the connections among artists in the digital age, said: “The idea emerged through social media channels.
“Since artists around the world have had constant communication through these mediums, it feels as if the world has become a small village.”
She emphasized the importance of showcasing Iraqi art in creating new links between cultures.
“This exhibition is about connection,” she said. “It honors the strength of our cultural heritage while fostering dialogue about the challenges and triumphs we navigate as artists.”
Al-Taleb saw the event as a chance to improve the appreciation of sculpture as a prominent art form in Saudi Arabia and beyond.
The exhibition offered a chance for artists to interact with their audience, improving the understanding of their work.
“Art should not exist in a vacuum; it is part of a larger narrative,” Farhan added, emphasizing the exhibition’s goal of community engagement.
Through their creative expressions in bronze, the artists told stories of resilience, creativity and discovery. As the exhibition concluded, it inspired a deeper appreciation of Iraqi sculpture.
