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ArtPeople

by Sophie She

Woven Histories: A Contemporary Take On Al Sadu By Maisoon Al Saleh

15 May 2025

Photo: Fedya Ro

At the recent unveiling of Mira Coral Bay — a new waterfront destination by Mira Developments in Ras Al Khaimah — art took center stage in a live painting performance that brought together creativity, culture, and local identity. Titled “Ras Al Khaimah’s Modern DNA,” the performance featured three women artists, each creating a piece inspired by elements of the emirate’s landscape and traditions. Among them was Emirati artist Maisoon Al Saleh, who brought a personal and modern take on one of the UAE’s oldest crafts.

A modern take on Al Sadu weaving

Maisoon Al Saleh’s painting, Threaded Pixels (2025), is acrylic on canvas that reimagines Al Sadu weaving — a traditional Bedouin textile craft — through a contemporary lens. Using precise, pixel-like strokes, she recreated the geometric rhythm of Al Sadu, blending hand-drawn motifs with a digital feel. The result is a piece that feels both nostalgic and forward-looking.
“My roots trace back to Ras Al Khaimah, a place that holds a special place in my heart,” Al Saleh shared. “Al Sadu weaving always brings back memories of my great-grandfather’s house, where its patterns were beautifully woven into the very architecture.”
Her work for Mira Coral Bay reflects that deep personal connection while also exploring how traditional crafts can evolve into new forms of expression.
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About the artist

Maisoon Al Saleh is no stranger to storytelling through art. Born in 1988 and based in the UAE, she works across painting, sculpture, digital media, and immersive installations. A graduate of Zayed University, her art has been shown in over 21 countries — from the Louvre in Paris to contemporary art fairs in Basel and Cannes. Her work often explores themes of cultural memory, identity, and history, sometimes incorporating unexpected elements like bones and skeletal forms to spark conversation.
She is also known for her Three Phase Signal series, which creatively connects human emotion and memory with concepts from electrical engineering — a good example of how she likes to blur the lines between science, culture, and storytelling.

Art meets place at Mira Coral Bay

The live performance at Mira Coral Bay was designed to reflect Ras Al Khaimah’s unique character — from its forts and coral-stone homes to natural symbols like the Ghaf tree and Jebel Jais.
Her painting was a quiet but striking reminder that heritage doesn’t need to stay in the past — it can be reinterpreted in ways that speak to today’s world.