Kuwaiti visual artist Alymamah Rashed delves into the surreal, painting a world where fluid figures explore social concepts like identity, investigate the role of female subjectivity in relation to regional folklore and depict nature in all its glory. Her recent commission for Piaget at Art Dubai 2025, however, spotlights Piaget’s signature designs and the avant-garde spirit of the 1960s. “I associated storytelling with drawing, painting and writing,” Rashed tells MOJEH when asked about her artistic journey. “My dad and I would draw and write silly stories together, and my mom would print out endless colouring pages and get me art supplies. I realised I wanted to do art for a living when I applied for art schools in the US at 17 and ended up starting my 7-year journey in New York City.”
Rashed’s commission Your Love Moves Around My Trapeze Sun, which will be unveiled at the new exhibition Play of Shapes, seamlessly weaves Piaget’s iconic trapeze shape into her signature surreal landscape. The geometry of the Sixtie jewellery watch collection inspires her thought process, finding a balance between strict lines and fluid forms. “I wanted to collaborate with Piaget’s rich history and let the elements found within their craftsmanship become a part of a mission within my practice — being the realisation of the spirit through the humane presence, the forces of nature, and the yearning for preserving its glory,” Rashed explains. “You can see the figures hugging the sun, which is shaped like Piaget’s trapeze-shaped timepiece. The figures move around the sun, hold it, and are rooted through it.”
For Rashed, the process of bringing together the two ideas was effortless: “I actually found this collaboration to be an effortless exchange of dialogue, reflection and immersion because Piaget’s Sixtie collection had a focus on shape, movement and metamorphic fluctuation, which are the elements that birth the foundation of my spirits shown in body form,” she explains to MOJEH. “It was an honour to simply have this dialogue and to merge our worlds together.”
Translating the brilliance of Piaget’s creations, Rashed also uses gold leaf and mica to infuse the piece with the glistening features of a Piaget piece. “I wanted to capture the spirit of Piaget’s legacy through focusing on shape and in dressing my bodily spirits with the gems and stones found in various pieces of Piaget. The figures are made through lapis pigment, gold leaf, mica pigments and various oil paint textures to create the glory of a golden presence found within Piaget’s identity,” says Rashed. “I wanted to see the different elements found within Piaget’s jewellery and timepieces as ornamental tools to ground the figures in the present.”
A question that often arises in the viewer’s mind when looking at Rashed’s paintings is the depiction of eyes throughout her works. When asked about its significance, she explains how eyes serve as a gateway for the viewer to enter into her work however they wish, regardless of whether they know her narrative or not. “The face is the eye, and one eye is expanded to serve as a gate to enter into the spirit, the composition and the fluctuation found within the work itself. The eye is a moment to acknowledge that you and I are connected, and you are the one to initiate this connection if you allow it,” she concludes.
With Art Dubai approaching, MOJEH recommends adding the Play of Shapes exhibition to your weekend’s itinerary, as Alymamah Rashed’s artwork is not one to be missed. Art Dubai 2025 will be on show at Madinat Jumeirah from 18 to 20 April. Book Now
