By Saleh Fareed

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Fans of performance arts have been congregating at Barahat Al Hazzazi in Jeddah’s Historical area to experience Al-Balloon, a non-traditional theater area. Al-Balloon is one of the several activities of the Summer Edition of 21,39, which is organized by the Saudi Art Council with support from the Ministry of Culture.

Shedding light on Al-Balloon, Abdulrahman Gazzaz, Curator of PUBLIC/PRIVATE, said that Mammafotogramma Studio was commissioned to design and build the performance stage situated at Barahat Al Hazzazi for the first summer edition of 21,39. “It is their first commission in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and they have successfully envisioned an installation bearing opposing characteristics: public versus private, inside versus outside, underneath versus above.”

He elaborated that the public interacts with the space by imagining the movement of a parachute descending, then being lifted by a helium balloon creating a ceiling for a space scattered with objects that blur the boundary between what’s public and private, welcoming actors, dancers, performers and any passersby. “Al-Balloon is an unconventional scenic space that can mutate during the day, evolving continuously thanks to the effects of the sun, the wind and the people,” he added.

“The fluidity of the design means that it can come together or be taken apart depending on the use. Constructed using local materials and skills, the stage is built on the idea that the components of its system will eventually be absorbed by the city around it, modified, digested and lived in,” Gazzaz highlighted.

Mammafotogramma Studio, founded in 2008, strives to find the latest in hybrid and mixed media

solutions that blend and reshape conventional methods of video, animation, illustration, and design, all while exploring new technologies to create unique productions that surprise and innovate.