Abdullah Al Saadi
Born 1967, United Arab Emirates
Lives and works in Khorfakkan, United Arab Emirates 

Diary on Sweet Potato Shapes 2021
acrylic on canvas, aluminium
Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with generous support from Rubaiya Qatar, Qatar Museums and United Arab Emirates Ministry of Culture
Courtesy of the artist 

Drawing on his family history as farmers near Madha, on the border between the United Arab Emirates and Oman, Abdullah Al Saadi uses the sweet potato (known as findale in the local lingua franca) as both subject and method. For the artist, working is akin to planting: an act of care, repetition, and attentiveness shaped by rural life and seasonal rhythms. 

The series Diary on Sweet Potato Shapes extends Al Saadi’s long-standing practice of cataloguing, mapping, and translating lived experience into visual systems. Inscribed with Al Saadi’s meticulous Arabic handwritten texts, from diaries documenting daily life, travel, family, illness, meals, and reflection, the works entwine observation with memory. These diaristic inscriptions sit embedded on schematic forms drawn from the sweet potato, collapsing agricultural labour, language, and abstraction into a single visual field. 

Rooted in local farming traditions, the series also acknowledges the sweet potato’s origins in Latin America. Al Saadi explored these connections during a research trip to the region, reflecting on shared agricultural knowledge across geographies and cultures. Part image, part record, Diary on Sweet Potato Shapes brings together drawing, language, and lived experience, revealing how memory, land, and daily life shape one another over time.