DESERT X

Last week, the 61st Venice Biennale officially opened, featuring works by seven Desert X alumni artists. including Himali Singh Soin & David Tappeser / Hylozoic/Desires. The duo, who participated in the 2023 Coachella Valley edition of Desert X, creates work centered on the rhythms of love and the pulse of belonging. Their methodology draws on research into place and history to imagine speculative futures, bridging the musical language of jazz with the literary tradition of poetry. Their practice explores time, interdependence, and alterity, using rhythm to challenge linear perceptions and reveal intercultural entanglements, parallel histories, and more-than-human perspectives. In this artist feature, h/d reflects on ‘Namak Nazar,’ a work that constructs an imagined cosmology through metaphors drawn from outer space and the natural world, exploring interference, distance, intimacy, and connection. Inspired by the proliferation of conspiracy cultures, from UFOlogy to cybernetic spirituality, the artists created a wooden pillar branching into loudspeakers, broadcasting a fictional narrative around Namak Nazar, a particle of salt tied to both the unraveling of climate systems and the possibility of renewal through introspection.   Experience the full @labiennale program from May 9 to November 22, 2026, and following along for more Desert X alumni artists who are participating in the Venice Biennale.  — Himali Singh Soin & David Tappeser / Hylozoic/Desires “Namak Nazar” Desert Hot Springs, California Desert X 2023   Mixing and mastering by Tommie Introna & Brian J. Sulpizio. Production by Anton Lieberman, assisted by Brian Taylor. Cover image by @lance.gerber .

What does it mean to hear the landscape? 🏜️ For Desert X AlUla 2026, artist Tarek Atoui (@studiotarekatoui ) reimagined the desert as an acoustic field where sound, space, and time converge. “When I received the invitation… I thought of the desert kites… vast geometric traces whose purpose remains uncertain. I began to wonder whether sound might be the missing key to their meaning—perhaps these ancient forms were not only to be seen, but also heard.” Across the site, a network of horn-like structures emerged from the earth, activated by the subtle rhythm of water gathering and falling. Each drop generates a shifting sequence of tones, transforming the landscape into a living composition. “The horns conversed with the canyon walls in echoes and delayed harmonies… the sound felt like a call — a song born from water itself.” Extending his ongoing work in AlUla, Atoui’s practice unfolds through collaboration, experimentation, and the creation of new instruments, inviting audiences to experience sound as a way of sensing place. — Tarek Atoui “The Water Song” AlUla, Saudi Arabia Desert X 2026 Video by @lance.gerber

At the 61st Venice Biennale, Desert X alumni artists will take the global stage.   Invited to ‘In Minor Keys’ are Torkwase Dyson (Desert X 2023), Himali Singh Soin & David Tappeser / Hylozoic/Desires (Desert X 2023), Kader Attia (Desert X 2024), Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons (@maria_magdalena_campos_pons . Desert X 2026), and Ibrahim Mahama (@ibrahimmahama3 , Desert X 2024). Dana Awartani (Desert X AlUla 2022) will represent Saudi Arabia in the National Pavilions.   This moment reflects the continued global impact of Desert X artists, whose practices evolve across geographies and contexts, shaping contemporary art discourse.   Experience the full @labiennale program from May 9 to November 22, 2026. — 1) Dana Awartani “Where the Dwellers Lay” AlUla, Saudi Arabia Desert X 2022 2) Himali Singh Soin & David Tappeser / Hylozoic/Desires “Namak Nazar” Desert Hot Springs, California Desert X 2023   3) Torkwase Dyson “Liquid A Place” Palm Desert, California Desert X 2023   4) Kader Attia “Whistleblower” AlUla, Saudi Arabia Desert X 2024   5) Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons “The Water Song” AlUla, Saudi Arabia Desert X 2026   6) Ibrahim Mahama “Dung Bara – The Rider Does Not Know the Ground Is Hot, Hanging Garden, A Full Gourd Does Not Rattle; It Is Only a Partially Filled Gourd Which Rattles Gabli Din Pali - A Full Gourd Does Not Rattle; It Is Only a Partially Filled Gourd Which Rattles” AlUla, Saudi Arabia Desert X 2024 Photos by @lance.gerber

Desert X AlUla 2026 is featured in recent @pinupmagazine coverage exploring how site-specific works unfold across one of the world’s most historically layered landscapes. Set within AlUla’s vast desert terrain, shaped over millennia by wind, water, and time, the exhibition brought together artists whose works engaged directly with place, material, and memory. From kinetic sculptures responding to wind and light to sound-based installations embedded in the earth, each work reflected an ongoing dialogue between land and human experience. Many of these works are inherently temporary, reinforcing Desert X’s commitment to site-responsive practices that leave no trace, but only a lasting impression. Tap our IN THE NEWS link in bio to read the full piece. — Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons (@maria_magdalena_campos_pons ) “Imole Red” AlUla, Saudi Arabia Desert X 2026 Photos by @lance.gerber

Two towering sequin clouds rise against the desert sky. ☁️ In ‘Unsui (Mirror),’ Sanford Biggers (@sanfordbiggers ) extended a recurring motif in his practice into the landscape. Drawn from Buddhist philosophy, “unsui” (clouds and water) suggests a state of unencumbered flow, where form remains in flux. Shifting with light and wind, the sculptures held a quiet tension between permanence and impermanence. Installed within the historic Desert Highland community, the work also carried a layered resonance, reflecting on memory, displacement, and the ongoing presence of place. How do we remain open to transformation while carrying the weight of what has come before? Commissioned in partnership with @buckhornpublicarts . — Sanford Biggers “Unsui (Mirror)” Coachella Valley, California   Desert X 2025 Photos by @lance.gerber

In case you missed it: Gisela Colón (@gisela_colon_ ), who participated in Desert X 2020, is featured in @artinamerica for her recent work, “Rios de Oro y Polvo (Parabolic Monolith Aurus Pulvum)" installed in Puerto Rico's El Yunque Rainforest. At Desert X, Colón presented her signature monolithic, light-activated sculptures that shifted in response to the desert’s changing light, dissolving the boundary between object and atmosphere. Rooted in ideas of perception, energy, and the body’s relationship to space, her work transformed the landscape into a site of subtle, continuous change. Her latest work continues this exploration across new terrains, extending a dialogue that began in the Coachella Valley into broader global contexts. In your opinion, how does light shape the way we experience place? — Gisela Colón “The Future Is Now (Parabolic Monolith Iridium)” AlUla, Saudi Arabia Desert X 2020 Photos by @lance.gerber

What defines our relationship to the environments we inhabit? For Desert X AlUla 2026, Mohammad Alfaraj (@mohammadalfaraj ) approached the landscape as both question and collaborator, drawing from ecology, memory, and the rhythms of his childhood in Al-Ahsa. Centered on ideas of grafting and coexistence, the work reflects how renewal emerges through connection, where fragments of the environment become vessels of care, endurance, and shared life. Unfolding as a sculptural maze, the installation invites movement, reflection, and inquiry, suggesting that the most meaningful outcome is not the answer, but the question itself. Born in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, Alfaraj is a multidisciplinary artist, poet, and filmmaker whose work explores the relationship between people and the natural world through material, memory, and storytelling. — Mohammad Alfaraj “What was the Question Again?” AlUla, Saudi Arabia Desert X 2026 Video and cover photo by @lance.gerber

Torkwase Dyson (@torkwasedyson ) describes herself as a painter working across mediums exploring the intersections of ecology, infrastructure, and architecture. ‘Liquid A Place’ is part of an ongoing series grounded in a simple but expansive premise: we are the water in the room. With nearly 60% of the human body and 70% of the planet composed of water, Dyson invites us to consider the circulation of memory across bodies and landscapes. For Desert X, this monumental work becomes a meditation on the relationship between the body and the desert, connecting the memory of water within us to the memory of water held by the land. How might we access this “liquid memory” to rethink scale, distance, and the spaces we inhabit? — Torkwase Dyson “Liquid A Place” Coachella Valley, California    Desert X 2023 Photos by @lance.gerber

By employing drawing, sculpture, performance, writing and multimedia installation, Paloma Contreras Lomas addresses topics such as patriarchy, violence, class segregation, colonial guilt and constructed middle-class identity with a cinematic sense of humor. Her work seeks to push back at the violent male gaze of the landscape by confronting its historical association with the male libido, the occupation and instrumentalization of territory, and economies of extraction. To learn more about this piece, visit desertx.org/. Photos by @lance.gerber #DesertX #DX23 #DesertX2023 Paloma Contreras Lomas ”Amar A Dios En Tierra De Indios, Es Oficio Maternal” Rancho Mirage, California, USA Desert X 2023

“Under the Same Sun” examines the tangled web between the sun, its material reality, and the energy, images, and forms that it produces. This multimedia installation features a greenhouse of native plants submerged in a cavernous underground room. Projected live-feed footage of the aboveground landscape bathes the greenhouse in light, allowing the plants to photosynthesize and grow. As part of the artist’s continued exploration of simulacra and immersive environments, this work brings to life the spectacle of biological reproduction through technological and visual means. To learn more about this piece, visit desertx.org. Photos by @lance.gerber #DesertX #DesertXAlUla2022 Stephanie Deumer ”Under the Same Sun” AlUla, Saudi Arabia Desert X 2022

The midcentury home invites us to re-inhabit history and relive the past. Rather than focus on architecture, Postcommodity’s “It Exists in Many Forms” places this architrave of desert civilization within a framework of kinship. The work looks to desires specific to the midcentury, which sought to meticulously plan living while doubling as a site of spontaneity and celebration. Caught between ritual and existence, the midcentury modern is better experienced than described. Like architect Walter White’s Wave House where it is sited, ”It Exists in Many Forms” amplifies complex sensations that attempt to intimate the desert as design element and object of allurement. Photos by @lance.gerber #DesertX #DesertX2019 #DX19 Postcommodity ”It Exists in Many Forms” Palm Desert, CA Desert X 2019

Inspired by the archaeological site of Hegra, Dana Awartani’s “Where The Dwellers Lay”  takes the form of a concave geometric sculpture that references the Nabataean tombs and their decorated facades. The 10-fold design of the structure is rooted in both the stairwell pattern that is commonly found carved on the exterior of the tombs, as well as in the artist’s expertise in Islamic geometry, making it an artwork that fuses the different cultural civilizations that have inhabited Saudi Arabia.  To learn more about this piece, visit desertx.org. Photos by @lance.gerber #DesertX #DesertXAlUla2022 Dana Awartani ”Where the Dwellers Lay” AlUla, Saudi Arabia Desert X AlUla 2022