Palimpsests of the Palm
Aminah Al Huqail and Terumi Saito
April 26 - June 1, 2025
Closing reception: June 1, 3 - 6 pm
Transmitter is thrilled to announce Palimpsests of the Palm, a two-person exhibition of Aminah Al Huqail and Terumi Saito, curated by Lila Nazemian, featuring works on paper, textile and ceramic sculptures. Both artists’ practice and use of mediums are linked to traditional craft forms such as paper making and backstrap weaving, nevertheless, each engages in innovative approaches to tradition that reflect their own personal and artistic journeys.
Al Huqail’s works of handmade paper primarily emerge from the byproducts of food, such as chickpea skins and olive or date pits that were consumed during gatherings. Using paper making techniques, she creates the paper pulp by blending these fibrous remnants along with dyes made from the same natural materials, such as pistachios. Al Huqail then makes paper that is pressed together to house pistachios shells or dates pits. Some works are made with her Greek grandmother’s last olive harvest; two pieces of adjoined paper contain the olive pits between them. Even the green netting that acts as a frame in various pieces is akin to the nets that her family in Greece have used for generations to gather each year’s olive harvest. Other works are created out of the food waste from Subhiya gatherings that took place every Sunday in New York, where artists and friends who were struggling to cope with the horrific aftermath of Oct 7th, would gather and engage in a calming, repetitive act, such as peeling chickpea skin to make hummus. The works are archives of a dark period of collective gathering where a space was made for a community to hold itself and feel safe.
Saito’s hanging sculptures are created using the backstrap weaving technique, prevalent across Asia as well as Central and South America and are inspired by the sacred ropes and ornaments (shime-nawa and shime-kazari) in Shinto shrines created for deities and that act as a protective barriers against affliction and harbingers of good fortune, respectively. The pieces in this show were created with Peruvian wool, using Andean weaving and natural dyeing techniques. Through this labor intensive process, interweaving tradition and belief, Saito summons the sacred. In her latest works that combine textile, rope and ceramics, the handles and, at times, the interiors of her vessels are assiduously glazed, encapsulating the spirit of guardianship and protection as objects that are to hold and be held. Combining the knowledge she has gathered from master weavers in Japan, Peru, and Guatemala, Saito’s work is a reflection of a shared global heritage rooted in the most ancient of art forms: weaving and ceramics.
In her essay, The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction, Ursula K Le Guin proposes that “The first cultural device was probably a recipient .... Many theorizers feel that the earliest cultural inventions must have been a container to hold gathered products and some kind of sling or net carrier.” (1) If objects to hold and carry were among the first human creations, then their continued prevalence in our societies affirms that while new forms and aesthetics of the containers are continually introduced, the primary purpose remains: we need things to carry, contain and gather other things. In essence, everything in our surroundings is a form of vessel, from our bottles which hold liquid, to buildings which contain apartments and evidently, people.
Al Huqail and Saito’s works, with their use of nets, paper, thread, rope, and ceramic, embody this primal and utilitarian need to contain. Yet, perhaps the very first holder of things was none other than the palms of our hands. The works in the show act like palimpsests, which not only reveal the traces of their makers, but also contain the evolution of materials as they transform under the direction of each artist's hand.
Notes:
1. Ursula K. Le Guin, “The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction,” Still Moving, accessed April 17, 2025, https://stillmoving.org/resources/the-carrier-bag-theory-of-fiction.
Artist Biographies
Aminah Al Huqail (b.1994) is a Saudi-Greek visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Her work considers the personal resonance of everyday objects, examining their place in collective histories and socio-political landscapes. Rooted in her upbringing between Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Greece, Al Huqail draws from repeating patterns observed across regions, spanning mass produced items, natural forms and foodways. These often ubiquitous items are embedded within broader themes of globalization, migration, war, and the nuances of sentimentalism. Working across various disciplines, including papermaking, embroidery, photography, and painting, Al Huqail looks to paper and its material history as a means to study the fragile yet enduring natural and social stratas that shape our built environments. aminahalhuqail.com - @minamiinah
Terumi Saito (b. Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan) is a New York-based sculptor and designer who interweaves fiber art and ceramics. Saito’s work reimagines the traditional backstrap weaving technique, incorporating natural dyes and hand-built ceramics to expand and push the boundaries of these mediums. She is a recipient of the American Craft Council Artist Directory; Presidential Scholarship Award from Anderson Ranch Arts Center; Houston Center for Contemporary Craft Artist Residency; Vermont Studio Center Artist Residency and Grant Award; Arquetopia International Artist Residency in Urubamba, Peru. Her work has been exhibited at venues such as Mana Contemporary; Artexpo New York; Spectrum Miami. Saito holds an MFA in Textiles from Parsons School of Design and a BFA in Graphic Design from Tama Art University in Tokyo, Japan. terumisaito.com - @terumi_saito_