Saudi artist Dana Awartani has created a new installation, 'Listen to my Words,' for the 2024 Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale. The work features a large-scale geometric floor pattern made from hand-dyed silk, which visitors are invited to walk upon, deliberately fraying and damaging the intricate design over the course of the exhibition.
Awartani's piece is a profound commentary on loss and collective healing, specifically addressing the 2002 demolition of the Ottoman-era Al-Musmak fortress in Riyadh. By creating something beautiful only to be worn away by public interaction, she transforms an act of destruction into a participatory ritual of remembrance. The work matters for its innovative approach to processing cultural trauma, using traditional Islamic craft to facilitate a public reckoning with history and exploring how art can serve as a medium for communal mourning and reconciliation.