Desert X AlUla is organised collaboratively by Desert X and the Royal Commission of AlUla (RCU), the exhibition takes place in the desert of AlUla, an ancient oasis in Saudi Arabia. It is the first site-reponsive exhibition of its kind in Saudi Arabia. The exhibition is a cross-cultural dialogue between artists from Saudi Arabia and its surrounding region and artists from previous iterations of Desert X in California, taking its cues from the extraordinary landscape and historical significance of AlUla.
The swing’s users must utilize the forces of gravity through coordinated pushings and pullings, until everyone moves into full swing together. In this playful moment, the potential energy of group movement is released. Perhaps it is possible, then, to shift the impact of our collective action to achieve a different kind of global momentum, and utilize the act of swinging together as a means of social and political transformation. First installed at the Tate Modern Turbine Hall in 2017, various site-specific installations of the swing-set continue to be created on a great diversity of contexts, such as AlUla in Saudi Arabia, the DMZ area in South Korea and Vordingborg in Denmark. The color-scheme of the swings themselves represents the specific colors of the national currency of the country in which the swings are installed. Over time, the work will evolve as the orange support continues to grow and new swings are added into the wider world.
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