Threads of Heritage
Alfred Cheng and Fatimah Al Nemer
Unix Gallery presents "Threads of Heritage" with Alfred Cheng and Fatimah Al Nemer. These two artists transform threads of their own heritage into contemporary forms of expression. Though working across different mediums and cultural landscapes, both Cheng and Al Nemer use material and process as pathways to memory, identity, and the reimagining of tradition.
Cheng, a Hong Kong–born pioneer of contemporary thread art, employs a single continuous line of thread to weave intricate forms across fields of meticulously placed nails. His process, both meditative and precise, draws on the region’s textile history while reconfiguring it into a striking new visual language. Each work emerges from restraint and repetition, yet opens into vast networks of possibility, evoking the delicate balance between individuality and interconnectedness.
Al Nemer, born in Al-Qatif, Eastern Province, builds upon folklore, social heritage, and the legacy of women as cultural anchors. Through visual art, multimedia, collage, and her innovative textile-printing techniques, she reclaims and reanimates historical and cultural narratives. Often placing herself at the center of her canvases, Al Nemer embodies figures of strength, myth, and memory, fusing past and present into a singular visual identity. Her works celebrate women not only as subjects of heritage but also as active creators of it, reshaping tradition into a living, breathing force.
Together, Cheng and Al Nemer demonstrate the transformative power of material. Thread, textile, and fabric are not merely supports or embellishments, but carriers of history and conduits of meaning. Where Cheng emphasizes precision and continuity, Al Nemer expands into symbolism and narrative, yet both underscore how traditional practices can be reimagined for contemporary discourse.
Their dialogue invites viewers to reconsider how culture is preserved, fractured, and reassembled—how a single thread can hold infinite connections, and how heritage, when placed in the hands of the artist, can transcend its past to shape new ways of seeing.