Batool Alshomrani

Batool Alshomari (b. 1985, in Washington D.C, USA) is a multidisciplinary artist who has a steadily progressing career and is considered one of the first and few female performing artists from Saudi Arabia. Other than performance Alshomrani works across various mediums; experimenting with audio, installation and paper based 2D works. While initially many of her works were performance based, her most recent pieces have been with works on paper. Batool’s Untitled series is a seminal body of work for Alshomrani that has been ongoing since 2010. She intervenes on carefully curated found book pages. With the use of pigment, Batool redacts the text and images completely on these pages, often only leaving page numbers and titles. The absence of the content on the pages allows for the viewers to construct their own narratives and make the association with the little information remaining as well as between the pieces in the collection. Grandfather clocks are featured heavily in this body of work, which has been present since the inception of the series.

Alshomrani gained her Bachelor of Arts from Marymount University (2008); an MFA from George Washington University (2010) in Fine and Studio Arts. Moving to New York in 2010, she was part of the Whitney Museum of American Art Internship Program as a curatorial intern for curator Chrissie Iles, and simultaneously worked as an artist. In 2012 Batool performed for Marina Abramovic's ‘Bed for Human Use’ at Luciana Brito's Galleria during the Armory Show.

Alshomrani has participated in several group exhibitions both locally and internationally including, ‘Verbal Input|Visual Output’, curated By Caranine Smith and Susan Sherwood Gallery 102, Washington, DC (2010), Rhizoma: 55th Venice Biennale (2013), ‘Insert Range Here’ in ATHR, Jeddah (2015). She held a solo exhibition titled ‘Trance Tunnel’, a site-specific installation Gallery 102, Washington, DC (2010). She won the 700-650 nm First Place Award at Gallery 102, Washington, D.C (2012).