Old Diriyah
2002
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
2002
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Old Diriyah is a 2002 by Cecilia Mandrile, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
Cecilia Mandrile’s *Old Diriyah* is a print that feels like a snapshot. You could almost hold it in your pocket. It’s part of a set of ID cards she made between 2002 and 2004. Each card shows a doll-like figure in a bleak setting. The dolls have bandaged heads and shadowy faces, hinting at loss and constant moving. She calls these “Intensively Displaced,” not “Identity.” Her computer and printer let her work anywhere. Look up Mandrile, Cecilia.
The artwork consists of a double-sided folding wallet featuring a computer-manipulated self-portrait of a doll with bandaged features on the left side, accompanied by the printed caption "I-D intensively displaced." On the right side, the same doll is depicted lying in a shallow depression in the ground. The piece references themes of displacement and migration, using the doll as a symbol of itinerant individuals forced to adapt to harsh conditions. The setting is linked to Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, where the artist taught around 2003.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Cecilia Mandrile’s prints capture everyday places and moods in simple, direct lines.
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