I had the pleasure working with Sa'rah Sabino to create a series of plaster basletball. Each plater basketbal is made with a mixture of sand and clay composite to create prehistoric basletball unearth from a geological site. After each basketball is cured and ready, Sar'ah meticlously painted and applied arabic calligraphy and design to each of the piece.
Dream Girl by Portland-based Sa'rah "Rah" Melinda fields an intimate conversation between the artist and her grandmothers, neither of which she was ever able to meet. In this dialogue, Rah imagines what it would be to live out the dreams of her ancestors. Presented at One Grand Gallery this exhibition incorporates selected multimedia works in the form of painting, sculpture and installation that each dig into the artist's heritage and invite vewers to wonder what it means to dream out loud.
Dream Girl by Portland-based Sa'rah "Rah" Melinda fields an intimate conversation between the artist and her grandmothers, neither of which she was ever able to meet. In this dialogue, Rah imagines what it would be to live out the dreams of her ancestors. Presented at One Grand Gallery this exhibition incorporates selected multimedia works in the form of painting, sculpture and installation that each dig into the artist's heritage and invite vewers to wonder what it means to dream out loud.
"Blue-painted arches adorn the main wall, each holding one of Rah's vivid, circular self-portraits. Each depiction of her likeness aims to reimagine a context that combines the celebration of femininity with a reflection on one's personal history. Rah paints herself into these revelatory moments with bright colors reminiscent of traditional Moroccan patterns, while wearing American basketball jerseys as converted hijabs. This deliberate visual fusion underscores the cultural relevance of the artist's upbringing in the US to her artistic practice.
In "Wrapped in the American Dream (Magic)," Rah gazes at the crowd through a blue and black striped Orlando Magic jersey, with a Champion logo above her eyes, which remain the only exposed part of her body to the public. Across the bottom of the canvas is the Arabic word for "girl" — signifying a daughter, a granddaughter, and Rah herself. The deliberate focus on this aspect commands the audience's attention, expressing the artist's fluid and internal journey of integrating her two diverse worlds. Within these paintings, she envisions herself as a child, playing dress-up to fulfill and surpass her grandmother's dreams."
Art Direction: Sa'rah Sabino
Design & Production: Kevin Hsiu
