Three junior fine art students were invited to exhibit at Sikka Art Fair 2026. The experimentalartworks were unglazed clay works completed in AVA’s studios under the guidance of Assistant Professor of Fine Arts Eman Alhashemi.
Maitha AlHouli’s “Vein of Silence” is a sculpture series that explores how unspoken emotions live and move through the human body. The twisting forms fold into themselves, echoing the way feelings are often held in rather than released. Smooth surfaces suggest calm on the outside, while hollow spaces reveal what has escaped or remains trapped inside. Instead of showing the body, the work captures what emotion leaves behind: quiet tension, restraint, and traces of inner pressure.
Maria Yasser’s “Air Between Walls” reflects the home as a site of loss rather than shelter, referencing the destruction of houses in Syria. Thirty small clay houses, sealed without doors or windows, signify inaccessibility, displacement, and rupture. The chimney remains the sole opening, symbolizing forced breathing and endurance, where survival persists through minimal means amid collective absence and suspended memory.
Mayed AlMheiri’s “The Train Won’t Stop” is a sculptural installation that reflects how relationships accumulate to form identity. Each clay line represents a life that has intersected with mine. Together, they form a structure shaped by closeness, distance, loss, and continuation. The work presents the self as a culmination of these encounters, suggesting that who we become is shaped by the people we move alongside, even briefly.
The Academy of Visual Arts encourages its students to push their creative experimentation beyond their studio requirements. To this end, it supports them through execution logistics, mentorship, and connection with the creative industry. It is a rewarding moment to witness our future creatives seizing the opportunity to further their artistic portfolios.