Can a Turtle Speak? Mohammed Alfaraj and Inter-species Storytelling in Al-Ahsa

By Mizuho Yamazaki

Published on November 8, 2025
Interview conducted on July 26, 2025

Based in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Alfaraj is a multidisciplinary artist who has been making marks in the Saudi and international art scenes. Following his triumph in receiving the Art Basel Emerging Artist Award 2025, AlFaraj is currently holding a solo exhibition entitled “Mohammad Alfaraj: Seas are sweet, fish tears are salty” at Dubai’s Jameel Arts Centre. In this interview, Alfaraj invited me into his studio in Al-Ahsa, located in the heart of the Eastern Province, a region known for its largest palm oasis in the world. The conversation provided his perspective on the value of collaborating with the earth rather than simply using it. Reflecting on this view, his work playfully challenges viewers to consider what it means to truly belong to the earth and how even the smallest changes can affect everything from a micro-environmental to a societal level.

1. Above: Mohammed Alfaraj, Seas are sweet, fish tears are salty, Courtesy of Art Jameel. Photo by Sian Richardson. Below: Mohammed Alfaraj, Fossils of Knowledge (2022). Exhibited at Art Week Riyadh, 2025. Photo by Mizuho Yamazaki.

Mizuho Yamazaki (M.Y.): Palm trees are an essential component in your work. I saw your work, Fossils of Knowledge (2022), in the exhibition “Collections in Dialogue” at Art Week Riyadh. You are also using charcoal to depict palm trees in one of your ongoing works.

Mohammed AlFaraj (M.A.): Yes, and this is the charcoal from the palm tree itself.

M.Y.: Do you burn it and collect the ashes?

M.A.: Yes, so the process is from wood to wood to wood…

M.Y.: And the paper itself is also made of ashes!

M.A.: Exactly, so all is from the same thing.

M.Y.: And there are turtles and dragonflies in another one of your drawings as well.

MA: Yes – there were streams in the middle of the roads in the Eastern Province. When we were in elementary school, we went to play around there to catch them. The streams used to be very beautiful! But even here in Al Ahsa, they are covered up. That is called modernization.

2. Mohammed Alfaraj, Seas are sweet, fish tears are salty, Courtesy of Art Jameel. Photo by Sian Richardson.

The streams used to be very beautiful! But even here in Al Ahsa, they are covered up. That is called modernization.

3. Mohammed Alfaraj, Seas are sweet, fish tears are salty, Courtesy of Art Jameel. Photo by Sian Richardson.

M.Y.: You touch upon how modernization or urban development and local natural environments coexist, and the tension between these two.

M.A.: Yes, I believe it is possible to do something that is considered progress without distraction, without having to eliminate something. If you have to eliminate something, why does it have to be done without much attention and study? If you say, “We are going to cover the stream and change the water system and irrigation,” that would certainly make the water cleaner and make the road broader. But what about the ecosystem that you would lose from doing that? There are cultural agents. For example, some of them have pollinators, which are important for specific plants. We are talking about a micro-environmental level. What if we expand it to a social one? What if we expand it to a political one? How would these changes affect all of these levels?

M.Y.: Do you mean “social” by the different people that make up our society?

M.A.: Absolutely, how all of these changes affect the different classes of people in society. The upper-middle class and upper class benefit from it, but the lower class doesn’t benefit from it; they cannot really afford the stuff that the development has offered. It's crucial to address this subject indirectly, as straightforward approaches can lead to conflicts. If you present your ideas in an alluring and attractive manner, people will engage with you. It is not that they feel, but they will realize that they are part of the whole thing, and they can do something to help out, to change with less negative impact.

We are talking about a micro-environmental level. What if we expand it to a social one? What if we expand it to a political one? How would these changes affect all of these levels?

4. Mohammed Alfaraj, Seas are sweet, fish tears are salty, Courtesy of Art Jameel. Photo by Sian Richardson.

M.Y.: How do you determine the extent to which you explicitly expose this or keep it hidden and abstract?

M.A.: It depends on how much fun I want to have. I do not think about it very consciously, but in the way that makes work so fun, as well as alluring and seductive. For example, I have a film showing at the Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai, called Don’t Touch My Tomato (2025). The film tells a story of three characters. One of them is the farmer who claims to have found this land dry, empty, and destroyed, and transformed it into a paradise, a very green place. But, at the same time, every day there is a bird and an insect that come and eat his fruits and vegetables, his efforts, his properties. So he says, “This is my land, they should not do that, I hate them.” And this film also tells the story from each of their perspectives.

You hear the story from the farmer with a particular camera angle. The second part is the bird. The bird comes in and says, “I am the grandchild of dinosaurs. We have been here for thousands of years, and we have been making our nests and families here until this wrong figure came in and started to destroy our lands, take our eggs, and kill our children.” The third character that comes in is the tomato, and it says, “Look at me! This figure is disfigured and destroyed. Everybody claims to be the victim, but I am the real one! But you know what? I always grow peace and harmony with everything. My seeds fall, and I keep growing and coming back again.” That is the story of the film. It is also told in different ways. The farmer is speaking, the bird is chirping, and you see the caption. And from the tomato, you hear something very electronic and strange. It was shot in different ways, too. The farmer with 35mm, the bird in a fish-eye perspective, and the tomato in a very micro view—these elements engage with the audience.

The form and media convey the content and idea effectively, and everything is shot with a clear purpose. And you are talking about something related to today's news. This is associated with the idea of indigenous people and land. Who is the actual owner of this place? I discuss it in a manner that can be applied to numerous historical events worldwide. It is almost universal.

5.Mohammed Alfaraj, Don’t Touch my Tomato (2025). Video installation, exhibited at Seas are sweet, fish tears are salty, Courtesy of Art Jameel. Photo by Sian Richardson.

Who is the actual owner of this place? I discuss it in a manner that can be applied to numerous historical events worldwide. It is almost universal.

6. Mohammed Alfaraj, Seas are sweet, fish tears are salty, Courtesy of Art Jameel. Photo by Sian Richardson.

M.Y.: It is also interesting that you give a soul or mind, for instance, to the tomato.

M.A.: I have also been trying to write about the idea of “inter-species storytelling.” In this way, all the species are included, and they have a voice. Inter-species in the sense that even some of the species of animals will be authors of the story itself. I am trying to achieve that –how can a bird or a turtle actually contribute to the story? Instead of me taking over, they speak their own voices on what they actually would say.

M.Y.: Where did the idea “inter-species storytelling” come from?

M.A.: I'm not sure where it came from, but I've always been drawn to animals, trees, and inclusion. So when I want to tell a story, I always want to tell a story that embraces everything from everybody.

How can a bird or a turtle actually contribute to the story? Instead of me taking over, they speak their own voices on what they actually would say.

7. Opening programming. Mohammed Alfaraj, Love is to leave the door to your garden ajar (2025). Exhibited at Seas are sweet, fish tears are salty, Courtesy of Art Jameel. Photo by Sian Richardson.

M.Y.: It is also wonderful to give attention to not only the human, one-sided perspective but also the voices of each social factor, which also comprises society in general. Even though they are not human, they are still part of society.

M.A.: Have you ever heard of this experiment where they got rid of flies? The whole thing fell apart in this experiment. Everything – even if it is annoying — has a reason. You think you have the knowledge and resources, so you think “why not utilize it and benefit from it”, but the reason why you should not is because you affect other things too. We all need to be conscious about our choices and how we are using and collaborating with nature. I think there is a big difference between using and collaborating.

This idea of inclusion, belonging, and feeling for the other —whether that other is a human or another species —can be connected on so many levels, regardless of your culture, background, or class. If you rely on concepts that are very core to humanity, such as understanding love and belonging, it is very easy to cross borders, languages, colors of skin, races, and classes. I am attracted to this idea, and I use it because I believe in it.

If you rely on concepts that are very core to humanity, such as understanding love and belonging, it is very easy to cross borders, languages, colors of skin, races, and classes.

8. Mohammed Alfaraj, Seas are sweet, fish tears are salty, Courtesy of Art Jameel. Photo by Sian Richardson.

^{Mohammad Alfaraj’s البحار عذبة ، دموع الأسماك مالحة “Seas are sweet, fish tears are salty” runs until January 4, 2026, at Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, UAE. Curated by Art Jameel’s Rotana Shaker, Curator at Hayy Jameel. The exhibition gathers works from the Art Jameel Collection, and includes new commissions.}

About the artist
Mohammad Alfaraj (b.1993, lives and works in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans film, photography, sculpture, writing and installation. Growing up in Al-Ahsa, a desert oasis, Alfaraj’s art is deeply influenced by the region’s unique landscapes and traditions. His work often explores the relationship between humans, nature and the environment, drawing inspiration from local stories, oral traditions and everyday life. Alfaraj employs a diverse range of materials, including indigenous elements like palm fronds and dates, as well as found objects and waste, which hold spiritual significance and act as capsules of time and memory.

About the writer
Mizuho Yamazaki is an independent researcher, curator, and writer. With special interests in the worldwide colonial institutional structures through the lens of the Middle East, she has worked at curatorial departments of MoMA PS1 at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Abu Dhabi Project at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, among others. Currently, she serves as Project Manager and Editorial Coordinator at AWARE – Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions in Paris, while curating numerous exhibitions in Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, and writing for Le Quotidien de l'Art, KeMCo Review, and REAR. She also served as a panelist at art institutions, including Jameel Arts Centre, the Diriyah Art Futures, the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, and the Japanese Society for Aesthetics. She was a resident at the inaugural Mazra’ah Media Arts Residency at the Diriyah Art Futures, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2025.

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Can a Turtle Speak? Mohammed Alfaraj and Inter-species Storytelling in Al-Ahsa

The streams used to be very beautiful! But even here in Al Ahsa, they are covered up. That is called modernization.

We are talking about a micro-environmental level. What if we expand it to a social one? What if we expand it to a political one? How would these changes affect all of these levels?

Who is the actual owner of this place? I discuss it in a manner that can be applied to numerous historical events worldwide. It is almost universal.

How can a bird or a turtle actually contribute to the story? Instead of me taking over, they speak their own voices on what they actually would say.

If you rely on concepts that are very core to humanity, such as understanding love and belonging, it is very easy to cross borders, languages, colors of skin, races, and classes.

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🎙️GAD Talk Series –– Season 1 2020

About ––

Interviews ––

Open Call ––

Newsletter ––

Chronological Archive ––

🔍 Legal

Can a Turtle Speak? Mohammed Alfaraj and Inter-species Storytelling in Al-Ahsa

The streams used to be very beautiful! But even here in Al Ahsa, they are covered up. That is called modernization.

We are talking about a micro-environmental level. What if we expand it to a social one? What if we expand it to a political one? How would these changes affect all of these levels?

Who is the actual owner of this place? I discuss it in a manner that can be applied to numerous historical events worldwide. It is almost universal.

How can a bird or a turtle actually contribute to the story? Instead of me taking over, they speak their own voices on what they actually would say.

If you rely on concepts that are very core to humanity, such as understanding love and belonging, it is very easy to cross borders, languages, colors of skin, races, and classes.

︎︎︎Previous Next︎

E-Issue 09 –– RUH/JED
Spring 2025

E-09++
Fall 2025

E-Issue 08 –– SEL
Summer 2024

E-08++
Fall 2024

E-Issue 07 –– AUH
Winter 2023-24

E-07++
Winter/Spring 2024

E-Issue 06 –– DXB/SHJ
Spring 2023

E-Issue 05 –– VCE
Fall 2022

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Fall/Winter 2022-23

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