Rashed AlAraifi
Bahraini, B. 1992
Rashed A. AlAraifi is an architect, designer, and visual artist based in Bahrain. He believes strongly in the power of visual storytelling and aims to utilize his art as a means to traverse the boundaries between painting, illustration, and object design. Scroll through to explore Rashed's artworks and extended biography.
Featured Artwork
Ambidextrous Drawings S1 #1
In Ambidextrous Drawings, Rashed AlAraifi captures spontaneous compositions using an ambidextrous method that he has experimented with over the past three years. The artworks specifically aim to capture prosperous moments of Bahrain in the 1930s to 1950s, and draw from the artist's memory of stories and narratives told from previous generations of his family, as well as archival materials gathered throughout his life. By using two contrasting colors, the viewer can trace the movement of the artist’s two hands working in tandem, and provides us an insight into the methodological process of combining stories and archives into compact visual memoirs.
The first series of Ambidextrous Drawings reveals cultural aspects of Bahrain's social landscape, specifically moments of human interaction and exchange. The artist was inspired by the proverb "one hand does not clap", which reflects their method of creating the works using both hands. Symbolically, this visualization of the proverb acknowledges the blossoming of Bahraini culture at that time, which thrived on local souqs and international trade. The artist further emphasizes this connection by choosing Khadi paper, a cotton-based woven fiber handmade in India, a country that traded extensively with Bahrain during this period.
Artwork size: 30 x 30cm.
Price includes floating mount behind glass framing
Biography
Rashed A. AlAraifi (b. 1992) is an architect, designer, and visual artist based in Bahrain. He believes strongly in the power of visual storytelling and aims to utilize his art as a means to traverse the boundaries between painting, illustration, and object design.
Often considering his works as visual responses rather than final outcomes, he delivers pieces that bridge process and narrative. He has participated in numerous exhibitions, both locally in Bahrain as well as on an international scale. Rashed is also the co-founder of Shepherd Studio, an award-winning transdisciplinary design firm headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
In 2010, AlAraifi graduated from the Bahrain Bayan School with an International Baccalaureate Degree. With a first-class honors Bachelor's degree (BA) in Interior and Spatial Design from the University of the Arts London, UK (2014) and a Master of Architecture (MArch, RIBA, Part 2) from the University for the Creative Arts, UK (2016), he has built an exceptional portfolio of work over the course of his career. Through his artistic practice, Rashed seeks to craft experiences that use created visual languages as a means to share fleeting stories of previous generations.
Exhibition History
Solo Exhibitions
2022 Visual Memoirs: Between figuration & abstraction, Bahrain
2012 State of Mind, Bahrain Embassy, London, UK
Group Exhibitions
2020 47th Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibition, Bahrain
2018 46th Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibition, as part of Shepherd Studio, Bahrain
2014 Free Range, London Design Festival, London, UK,
2010 Jumble, Al Riwaq, Bahrain
2010 Super Size Me, Isa Town, Bahrain
Award History
2022 Wallpaper* Design Award 2022, as part of Shepherd Studio
2020 2nd Place Winner, 47th Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibition, Bahrain
2019 Start-up of the year, Bahrain Award for Entrepreneurship, as part of Shepherd Studio, Bahrain
2019 Charter of Gold Award, Under the patronage of HM King Hamad Bin Isa AlKhalifa, as part of Shepherd Studio, Bahrain
2018 2nd Place Winner, 46th Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibition, as part of Shepherd Studio, Bahrain
Education History
2014-2016 Master of Architecture (MArch): RIBA Part 2, University for the Creative Arts, UK
2011-2014 Bachelor of Arts (BA) Interior & Spatial Design with First Class Honors, University of The Arts London, UK
2010 International Baccalaureate Degree, Bahrain Bayan School, Bahrain