bahrainthismonth.com | SEPTEMBER 2026 INTERVIEW 24 Saad Al-Essa Bahraini artist Saad Al-Essa brings the Kingdom’s cultural heritage into a striking contemporary frame through his distinctive geometric style. For our September cover, his artwork Samrat turns to the traditional music and folk dances of the Arabian Gulf, celebrating a shared heritage shaped by generations of coastal communities. What first inspired you to pursue your creative career? I consider myself truly fortunate to have been blessed with this creative gift. My passion for art began early in life, driven by an instinctive desire to document visual memory and the environment around me. The turning point came when I realised that direct, realistic documentation felt too static. This sparked an exploratory journey, deconstructing scenes into visual energy and geometric masses. I moved through realism, caricature, digital art and surrealism before ultimately anchoring my work in geometric abstraction. That was the moment I knew I had found my true calling. Your work blends bold geometric forms with modern Bahraini culture and heritage. How did this distinctive style develop? This style developed through an effort to strip subjects down to their essential architectural foundations. By merging contemporary cubism with Arabian Gulf identity, my practice shifted from representational drafting to bold compositions defined by sharp black outlines and faceted colour planes. The goal was to forge a visual language that gives our heritage a modern pulse attuned to today’s rapid cultural and architectural evolution. You reinterpret Bahraini architecture, dress and everyday culture through geometric compositions. What draws you to these subjects? I believe art is a universal language that needs no translator. The cultural landscape of the Arabian Gulf, and Bahrain in particular, is extraordinarily rich in visual elements that deserve global exposure. The rhythmic drape of Thobe Nashil embroidery, the angular geometry of the traditional Batoola, the curved hulls of wooden dhows (Boum) and the historic masonry of Muharraq are all anchored in powerful structural forms. Reinterpreting these everyday scenes highlights the timeless beauty embedded in our traditions. How do you balance Bahrain’s heritage with a fresh, contemporary expression? Balance comes from treating heritage as a living, evolving identity rather than a static museum piece. The soul of the work remains deeply rooted in the local environment through warm desert tones, deep maritime blues and human narratives, while the execution relies on spatial abstraction, layered textures and bold compositional structure. What do geometry, lines and patterns allow you to express that a more traditional approach cannot? Geometry cuts through surface detail to reveal the underlying balance and harmony of the composition. Obscuring direct facial features
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