Hayy Jameel Façade Comission

Ashraf Abdullah

Messages From  the Road (2024)

Hand-painted galvanized steel, oil paint on aluminum composite panel, fibre glass and acrylic sheets, vinyl sticker, LED lights.

Commissioned by Art Jameel.

Artwork produced in collaboration with Asmatullah Khan, Ghulam Yaseen, Fida Mohammad. 

Building on his existing practice as a graffiti artist, and marking his first institutional commission, Ashraf Abdullah’s ‘Messages from the Road’ draws on the vernacular of truck art in the region. He explores these trucks as sites where stories of mobility, perseverance and craftsmanship intersect. The new commission works directly with truck-art communities across Saudi Arabia, both in co-producing the research for the artwork as well as the paintings on its  surfaces, as an act of celebrating a vanishing artform.

Truck-art is a rich cultural tradition observed across the region, used to beautify the mundane everyday ritual of work, and also to message other passers-by on the road. These messages, much like “striving and movement” does in this commission, often liken the physical movement of the body to a spiritual movement, including Islamic phrases, calligraphy and prayers. Abdulah finds these messages and their ability to be disseminated on the road inspiring, often encouraging patience, success and hope.

This year, the Façade Commission’s jury – included Curator and visual artist Muhannad Shono; Deputy Director (Arts) at Art Jameel Nora Razian; Founder of Counterspace and Artistic Director of the Islamic Arts Biennale Sumayya Vally; and Associate Curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Clare Davies. 

The jury also opted to award a Jury Special Mention to one of the shortlisted proposals in recognition of their originality and bold vision. Congratulations go to Jameelah Mater.

Ashraf Abdullah (b.1997) is a contemporary graffiti artist. In his street art works, he uses public space as a canvas to explore oft overlooked and underappreciated vernacular art forms, with specific interests in Arabic calligraphy visible in everyday scenes.

The annual Hayy Jameel Façade Commission gives Saudi and Saudi-based artists the opportunity to develop a major new work for the public realm.

Special thanks to the Art Jameel team and all the hands that go into managing, producing, and maintaining this commission.