Reflection

There’s an idea that technology, urban life, and nature are naturally at odds. However, in Asir—a mountainous region in southwestern Saudi Arabia—that division doesn’t exist. Quite the opposite. My goal was to show how communities like mine live at the intersection of all these things—nature, culture, and technology. The concrete walls, plastic chairs, flash photography lighting, and phone camera overlay are oh-so “unnatural”. Yet she’s surrounded by nature: a bouquet of rāhan, often called the ‘Asiri Dolls’, partially covers her face. We as humans usually consider the face the most important part of the self. The fact that half of hers is covered shows the connection with nature. The Asiri people—unlike many other Saudi groups—are named after the land, not a tribe. Much of our identity is tied to the environment. Also al-ibra is lovingly planted behind her. I used painterly and pixelated brushes to reflect the balance between the organic and the digital. Neon colors contrast muted natural tones for the same reason. The phone screen is crucial: before smartphones, very little of Asir was photographed in all its colorful glory. Now, not only is the landscape being captured—its people are too. Someone is taking her picture, and in the “recent photos” album, children look over the highlands. There’s connection happening. The landscape is based on real views from Asir, where urban lights don’t drown out the land—they sit within it. Places like Al-Jabal Al-Akhdhar glow neon at night, all of Asir does. Asir is called the “land of color” for a reason. This piece taught me that sustainability isn’t just environmental, it’s cultural. Preserving identity, especially in underserved regions, IS climate work. Also through creating this, I realized how deeply I rely on the land to feel whole, I realized I was showing my own place within it.