The Secret Lake

In the discourse of the Western world, the desert often receives a reductive portrayal as a desolate wasteland—a vast expanse devoid of life, akin to a gaping void consuming all in its path. Yet, within this seemingly barren landscape, ecological anomalies emerge, challenging such simplistic depictions. These anomalies manifest as oases of water surrounded by lush greenery and bustling with diverse wildlife.

This video documentation explores two sites within Riyadh's desert, commonly referred to as 'The Secret Lake'. The first site, situated northwest of Al Mahdiyah, reveals traces of a dried-up lake, while the second, located southwest of AlUyanah, showcases the captivating aftermath of a desert following rainfall. Through the footage, the artist interweaves narration from Paul W. Harrison's "The Arab at Home" (1924), a work by an American medical missionary to Arabia. This narrative serves to interrogate colonial perspectives of the desert, juxtaposed with indigenous practices of water location and utilization, inviting reflection on the complexities of local ecosystems and challenging dominant narratives of aridity.