People throughout the Arabian Peninsula are taught to live in respectful relationship with spirits that live beneath the earth called “ahl al ‘arth,” (people of the earth). Kuwaiti-Iraqi artist and art therapist Farah Salem grew up aware of regular interactions with these spirits. Her mother and grandmothers explained that while some spirits are peaceful, others are upset when disrespected and could retaliate. As a result, Farah learned about ways of moving through the world mindfully so as to not disturb spirits at rest. The knowledge that, “[she doesn’t] exist alone, but rather in relationship with plants, rocks, animals, and unseen forces” drives her artistic practice.

The exhibition Farah Salem: Uninhibited People of the Earth presents new and existing works across media that continue the artist’s study and artistic reinterpretation of healing and ceremonial migratory practices of people of the Arabian Peninsula that seek to repair one’s relationship with oneself, the earth, and other beings. In Farah’s work, images of landscape and the body merge, tracing affinities between geologic time, somatic movement, ancestral knowledge, and ceremonial rituals. In her performance and video works, movement manifests as an embodiment of agency through which she explores ways to reimagine traditional practices to address trauma, the marginalization of women and immigrant people and the climate crisis today.

Farah was a Radicle Studio Resident at Hyde Park Art Center in 2021. The body of work presented in this exhibition was started during her residency and has expanded since. Curated by Mariela Acuña, Exhibitions and Residency Manager at Hyde Park Art Center.

Farah Salem is a Kuwaiti-Iraqi interdisciplinary artist and art therapist based in Chicago. Farah’s studio practice is rooted in photography, expanding through video, performance, fiber-materials, and installation. Her origins in photography influence the ways she uses materials to sensorily embody concepts she grapples with. In her studio practice, through relational merging and mapping of human and geological bodies, she visions their liberation. By doing so, she examines themes of agency, making the invisible visible, and potential erosion of socio-cultural conditioning distorting our shared realities. Her visual arts and somatic-centered art therapy practices are independent however they intersect in her professional training, informing her artistic exploration of how trauma manifests in the body. Incorporating tools from ancestral healing wisdom for the recovery of the somatic experience while relating to the natural world.

Farah holds an MA in Art Therapy and Counseling from School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her artwork has been featured nationally and internationally at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago), EXPO CHICAGO, American University Museum (Washington DC), United Photo Industries/Photoville Gallery (New York), Patel Brown (Toronto), Engage Gallery (Chicago), Bolivia Biennial, Paris Contemporary Art Fair, Sharjah Art Foundation (UAE), and Contemporary Art Platform (Kuwait). Farah completed the Radicle Studio Residency at Hyde Park Art Center, Hatch Residency at Chicago Artist Coalition, ACRE Artist Residency, Per|Form at Contemporary Art Platform (Kuwait) and Journey to Turkey Residency with Crossway Foundation (UK). Farah is the recipient of the 2024 3Arts Award, and is the 2017 Laureate Winner: International Women Photographers Award.

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