PhotoEssay: Jeddah's Bizarre Artwork Top 10

When I first arrived in Jeddah, one of the first things I noticed was the presence of all sorts of artwork (sculptures,arches,fountains, etc.) seemingly strewn about the city's main roads. After living here for a month I found out why. Apparently, one of Jeddah's former mayors was something of a visionary, and hoped to turn the city into the world's largest open-air art gallery. Many artists, Arabs as well as Europeans, were summoned to produce works of art for this cause. As a result, Jeddah today is adorned with dozens of pieces of art, mainly sculptures. Because it is prohibited in Islam to imitate Allah's creations in any way, art here takes the form only of inanimate objects. Some of this artwork is quite nice, some interesting, but a lot of it is just plain weird. I decided to create a small photo essay of the strangest, most bizarre, artistic creations from the streets of Jeddah to show you what I mean. Most of the following are found along the coastal road or roundabouts throughout the city. Here goes:

#10

This is just one of those things that are supposed to be "modern and abstract", I guess. Maybe the artist should have worked more on "aesthetically pleasing" though. 

#9

I can only assume these are enormous chocolate ice cream cones, just chilling in the middle of the road.

#8 

It's a gigantic red faucet. Enough said.

#7  

Sometimes I like to think that this sculpture is making a statement, perhaps about the value of fair play, or the importance of an active, healthy lifestyle. Then again, maybe it's just a huge yellow whistle.

#6 

There's actually a whole series of these, not just the pliers.  There's also a saw, cutting through some wooden boxes, a hammer, banging on some enormous bricks, and a spade, sticking out of a block of concrete. I really don't know why though.

#5 

 

This thing just looks like the product of a minaret and a really big seashell mating.

#4

Is it a wave? Is it an octopus? Nope, it's a bunch of blue tiles and it's ugly.

#3 

This can only be a tribute to Saudis'  driving skills.

#2 

This is probably one of my favorite artworks in Jeddah's open- air gallery. I mean, it's a car riding a flying carpet. Doesn't get much cooler than that.

#1

I didn't manage to capture this as I would have liked, since I was in a moving car. In case you can't tell, it's a boat overflowing with massive fruit, riding tile waves. I'm pretty sure it's the most random thing I've ever seen.

Well, that's my Top 10 of Jeddah's most bizarre art, but it's really the smallest possible sample of the incredible artwork to be found in the city's streets. If you'd like to see more, please comment below :)