Roudhah Al Mazrouei (b. 2003, Al Ain) is an Abu Dhabi-based visual artist and researcher whose practice is deeply rooted in cultural memory, ecological symbiosis, and archival preservation. Her work engages with the materiality of Gulf landscapes, incorporating region-specific substances such as sikham (charcoal from native trees) and snaah (a traditional mixture of saffron and mahlep) to explore the intersections of history, environment, and collective memory.

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While she primarily works with oil, her multidisciplinary practice spans public art, film, sculpture, and printmaking. She has contributed to significant projects, including curating Zuhoor at Manarat Al Saadiyat, receiving the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award in 2022, and creating interactive sculptural installations across the UAE. Her work reflects a dedication to crafting public art that is both conceptually rigorous and culturally resonant.

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Beyond her artistic practice, Roudhah is committed to education and research. She has been actively involved in developing educational initiatives, including her contributions to 421’s programming and the Arts Proxy Program at NYU Abu Dhabi. She is currently a Kawader Research Fellow at Al Mawrid Center for the Study of Arab Art, where she conducts archival research on UAE-based artists and alternative historiographies.

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Roudhah holds a BA in Art & Art History from New York University Abu Dhabi and is currently pursuing an MFA at the Royal College of Art.

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She is represented by Iris Projects.

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Artist Statement:

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Through my practice, I weave together tradition and contemporary inquiry, crafting narratives that honor and reimagine the cultural and ecological landscapes of the UAE. My materials—rocks from the Hajar Mountains, specifically from my mother’s village of Siji, sikham (charcoal from native trees), and snaah (a traditional mixture of saffron and mahlep, historically used as a perfume)—function as living archives. These substances are not merely aesthetic elements but carriers of memory, embodying the intersection of materiality, history, and transformation in a rapidly modernizing world.

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My work navigates themes of identity, memory, and heritage, with a distinct focus on Siji and its surrounding wadis. Rather than depicting the landscape solely as a physical entity, I explore its narrative depth, tracing the endurance, adaptation, and symbiosis that define its inhabitants. Much like sikham, which undergoes fire to become a lasting mark, and snaah, which carries the scent of memory across generations, my practice mirrors the resilience and transformation inherent in Bedouin ways of life. By integrating surrealist interventions and archival research, I construct layered visual languages that challenge linear notions of history, offering new ways to engage with the past.

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At the same time, my work contests the reductive narratives of arid landscapes. By juxtaposing the verdant valleys of Siji with the stark majesty of its mountains, I reveal an ecological complexity often overlooked. The survival instincts of our ancestors—whether from the coast, desert, or mountains—are not just historical artifacts but ongoing strategies of adaptation. Through this interplay of contrasts, my practice repositions the desert not as barren, but as a dynamic archive of knowledge, resistance, and life, inviting viewers to reconsider their perceptions of both landscape and legacy.