Middle Eastern promise
If the artists known as 'Young British Artists' had left the UK to work in the Middle East, and adopted local art practices, it's unlikely we'd be interpreting their
'Britishness' in the same way as we have been doing. And so maybe the Middle Eastern artists here, most of whom seem to live in (or constantly jet about) the West, and whose style is the
geographically indifferent one called 'contemporary art', aren't quite the 'Young Middle Eastern Artists' that Baghdad-born Charles Saatchi seems to want us to believe. But, who knows - maybe they
are. It's all confusing mischief, and is well worth a visit.
Neal Brown
FIRST POSTED FEBRUARY 2, 2009
Above: Untitled, 2008 by Ahmed Alsoudani at Unveiled: New Art from The Middle East at the Saatchi Gallery, King's Rd, London, SW3 4SQ, until May 6 2009




