Gold ribbons and sacred shadows: standing before the Ka'ba in Malé

“Makkah, an Art Exhibition by Baachy” is art as spectacle, an exhibition that became a masterclass in exhibiting itself. There were several sponsors, including the Saudis (for obvious reasons), who instructed the artist to paint the Quran Gate, a canvas that seems profane in this context with its roads and cars. 

“It wasn’t my idea,” explains Ahmed Azmee, better known as Baachy. “I was told to do this, at the very last minute – this is actually an entire night’s work.”

The exhibition features huge canvases depicting Islam’s holiest site and sacred mosques – a natural progression from Baachy’s successful show in September, where his rendering of a popular Ka’ba photo drew in the crowds. This new exhibition, which Baachy says took him months to put together, is the artist capitalising on that earlier opportunity, a local curator suggests.

Makkah is an exhibition that is uniquely Baachy. The artist's statement dutifully implores visitors to stand back from the paintings for the magic to work. 

Baachy is not known for his technical ability. He's not an artist's artist. But he is prolific and relentlessly puts out work that pulls in the masses. More importantly, he adds a bit of novelty to “the art scene,” such as it is – with his relief sculptures from a few years ago, for instance. It often leaves an impression on younger artists. An art student found it endlessly cool when Baachy exhibited his paint-struck jeans at the gallery last September.

"Imagine, it took Baachy to make me feel that," says an aspiring conceptual artist, somewhat grudgingly acknowledging how they never fully appreciated the scale of the Ka'ba before.

"I had no idea all this time. How crazy is that? It's our qibla for crying out loud!"

Baachy hasn’t been to Makkah in almost a quarter century. But the Ka’ba seems to have left quite the impact on the National Award-winning artist. Every time it appears on the canvas, Baachy ensures that its signature black with a ribbon of gold is clearly visible. That’s how much he respects the holy house. Although a friend thinks Baachy may have sinned by not being attentive to what’s written on the gold ribbon.

The exhibition is well worth visiting. A couple of canvases have a sense of the transcendent. But Baachy only felt remotely spiritual during this exhibition’s opening, at least according to what I hear. 

The effect of the Ka’ba's shadow on pilgrims is perhaps even more impressive than the structure itself. What’s more, Baachy did a canvas print of the Ka’ba’s covering that is hung over a painting of the bricks, almost like a replica – all of it done with nary a care, Baachy-style. 

If you want to see and hear (Baachy cleaned the birdsong recorded at the Ka’ba to remove unwanted sounds) for yourself, Saturday is your last chance. The exhibition closes at 10pm.