Perhaps many people do not know that a work of art by the late Kuwaiti artist Sami Mohammad stands on one of Dubai’s streets, and perhaps many pass it without a second glance. It is the sculpture 'The Sidra' unveiled in June 2009 in Downtown Dubai.Sami Mohammad who died on August 11, 2026, at the age of 82, left behind a career spanning more than six decades and a body of work that helped establish the place of sculpture in the modern art movement of the Arabian Gulf.Sami Mohammad chose the sidra tree as the subject of his sculpture not simply because it belongs to the Arabian Gulf environment, but because he saw in it a symbol of the Gulf woman: a tree whose roots run deep into the earth, which withstands heat and drought, and remains capable of giving. The sculpture brings together the form of a woman and the symbolism of the sidra tree, capturing in a single work elements of Gulf identity, resilience and heritage. The bronze sculpture became part of Dubai’s public art landscape, where people could encounter it outside the traditional setting of galleries and museums.Perhaps the most beautiful thing about the story of 'The Sidra' is that a Kuwaiti artist found in Dubai a place where his work could become part of the city’s everyday life. Dubai was not merely building towers, roads and shopping centres; it was also seeking to make art part of the public realm. Someone may pass 'The Sidra' today without knowing the name of its creator, or realising that it belongs to one of the pioneers of sculpture in the Arabian Gulf.Sami Mohammad belonged to a generation that did not inherit a fully developed Gulf art movement, but helped build one. Born in Kuwait in 1943, he developed an interest in sculpture at an early age and trained under Egyptian sculptor Anwar Al-Srouji. In 1962, he joined Kuwait’s Free Atelier as a full-time artist. In 1966, he received a government scholarship to study at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo, graduating in 1970. The following year, he was commissioned to create a bronze statue of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah.In 1967, he was among the founders of the Kuwaiti Society for Fine Arts, an important institution in the development of modern Kuwaiti art. He belonged to a generation that understood that an artistic movement required more than individual talent. It needed institutions, exhibitions, artists working together and a place for art in society. His importance therefore extends beyond his own sculptures to the history of modern Kuwaiti and Arabian Gulf art.Sami Mohammad chose the sidra tree as the subject of his sculpture not simply because it belongs to the Arabian Gulf environment, but because he saw in it a symbol of the Gulf woman: a tree whose roots run deep into the earth, which withstands heat and drought, and remains capable of giving. Photo: Yamani Al-AfariHe later travelled to the United States, where he continued his studies and broadened his knowledge of sculpture and bronze casting. These experiences expanded his artistic vocabulary, but they did not separate him from his own environment. On the contrary, the more his work developed, the more he found ways to transform local experience into universal themes.His early sculpture was closer to realism. He worked on human and historical figures, including 'Ibn Rushd' and 'Al Khalil Ibn Ahmad,' as well as works inspired by Kuwait, the sea and the lives of its people. But gradually, the human figure became more than a subject. It became a vehicle for exploring freedom, oppression, suffering, resistance and dignity.This transformation is evident in works such as 'Hunger', and later in the 'Boxes' series, which became one of the defining achievements of his career. The box in Sami Mohammad’s work is not simply a geometric shape. It is a prison, a symbol of confinement and of the human being trapped within limits he did not choose. Yet the figure inside is never entirely defeated; there is always an attempt to break out and reach the light.That ability to turn form into symbol gave his work a significance beyond Kuwait. A viewer in Kuwait could recognise something of his own reality; an Arab viewer could see a broader experience of suffering and resistance; and a viewer elsewhere could understand the universal desire for freedom.Then came 'Sabra and Shatila', perhaps the work most closely associated with his name. Created in response to the 1982 massacre in Beirut, it transformed a political tragedy into a deeply human statement. For Sami Mohammad, art was not simply about recording events. It was about preserving their emotional and human memory.The work also gained international recognition in the art market. 'Sabra and Shatila' sold at Christie’s in Dubai for $65000 while 'Penetration' achieved $55000 and 'Moment of Exit' sold for $38,000. These prices do not determine artistic value, but they demonstrate that the work of a sculptor from the Arabian Gulf had entered a major international art market.In 'Moment of Exit', the idea of breaking free from confinement returns. Like the 'Boxes', it speaks of the human struggle against restrictions. Across these works, Sami Mohammad was engaged in what could be seen as one long conversation with humanity: its suffering, its fears, its confinement and, above all, its determination to resist.This is why it would be too narrow to describe him simply as a political or social artist. His work was fundamentally humanistic. Contemporary events gave him subjects, but the human being was always at the centre.His art also demonstrated that international recognition does not require an artist to abandon his identity. Quite the opposite. Sami Mohammad drew deeply from his Kuwaiti and Arabian Gulf environment and transformed its memories, symbols and concerns into a language that could travel beyond geographical borders. His work was rooted in a particular place, but its themes were universal.'The Sidra' demonstrates another dimension of his personality as an artist. The same man who sculpted 'Sabra and Shatila' and explored confinement in the 'Boxes' could look at a Gulf tree and see beauty, womanhood, endurance and rootedness. There is no prison in 'The Sidra'; there is land. There is no image of defeat; there is an affirmation of survival.Sami Mohammad worked not only in sculpture but also in painting, printmaking, graphic art and ceramics. His work was exhibited widely in Kuwait and abroad, and he received numerous awards and honours.Perhaps the most beautiful thing about the story of 'The Sidra' is that a Kuwaiti artist found in Dubai a place where his work could become part of the city’s everyday life. Photo: Yamani Al-AfariBut perhaps his greatest significance lies in the fact that he was a pioneer. The artistic landscape available to Gulf artists today simply did not exist when Sami Mohammad began his journey. There were fewer institutions, fewer galleries, almost no international Gulf art market, and far fewer opportunities for artists from the region to present their work abroad. He and his generation had to create much of that landscape themselves.That is why, when we look today at the growing international presence of Arabian Gulf art, we should remember those who paved the way. Sami Mohammad was among them. His achievement was not simply that he produced important sculptures; it was that he helped establish sculpture as a serious artistic language in Kuwait and beyond.The market may put a price on a sculpture, museums may acquire it, and exhibitions may give it international exposure. But none of these things alone creates an artistic legacy. That comes from the ability of an artist to leave behind works that continue to speak when the artist himself is no longer there.Perhaps this is why 'The Sidra' in Dubai means more today than it did when it was unveiled. People passing it may not know the story of the artist who created it. They may not know that he was one of the pioneers of modern art in the Arabian Gulf. Yet the sculpture remains in the city’s public space, quietly becoming part of its memory.Sami Mohammad is gone, but his work has not gone with him. His sculptures remain in Kuwait and in collections elsewhere, while 'The Sidra' remains in Dubai, reminding us of the artist every day.Sami Mohammad spent his life making stone speak about humanity — about suffering, fear, confinement, resistance and the desire for freedom. Now, after his death, the stone speaks about him. And it tells us that Sami Mohammad was not merely a Kuwaiti sculptor. He was one of those artists who helped write the history of modern art in the region taking the experience of his own place and transforming it into something the world could understand.The artist may be gone, but the stone and the bronze remain, bearing witness to the human being, and to the man who gave it a voice.---Abdul Hamid Ahmad is a UAE Writer and Columnist
