Ajlan Gharem is an artist and mathematics teacher based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the winner of the V&A’s Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics in 2021. Ajlan’s practice explores how Saudi communities understand and articulate their culture amid globalisation and changing international power dynamics.
In this short film by V&A and Art Jameel, Ajlan Gharem describes his winning installation, Paradise Has Many Gates. The structure replicates the design and function of a traditional mosque, but is made of the cage-like chicken wire associated with border fences and refugee detention centres. The material provokes anxiety, but it also renders the mosque’s interior visible and open to the elements.
When shown in the West, the installation serves to demystify Islamic prayer for non-Muslims, tackling the fear of the other at the heart of Islamophobia. Although its material connects the mosque to an architecture of control, the work is intended to be a site of community connection. Ajlan invites people of all backgrounds, of any religion, to spend time together in the space.
