CIFRA launches Anhar Salem's solo exhibition A Diary of Private/Public Escapes

CIFRA presents A Diary of Private/Public Escapes, a film program by Saudi artist Anhar Salem, as part of its ongoing curatorial series on contemporary moving image practices. Born in Jeddah in 1993 to a family of Yemeni and Indonesian descent, Salem brings an awareness of cultural belonging and difference to her work. 

The exhibition includes works produced between 2015 and 2022 and looks at how everyday life is shaped by visibility, social norms, and informal boundaries. Using mainly a phone camera, Salem records fragments of daily experience such as walks, conversations, and passing moments, without staging or narrative direction.

As CIFRA notes, “Her films begin with simple gestures – picking up a phone, turning on the camera – allowing moments to unfold without direction.”

Salem’s work centers on presence: who appears in the frame, how bodies move through space, and what remains unspoken. It reflects environments where behavior is regulated and visibility carries weight.

The exhibition follows a chronological structure. Early works such as Bridge (2015) and Eyes (2015) focus on perception and visibility. Later films move into urban space, where movement is shaped by constraint. In more recent works, including Love & Revenge (2022), the image becomes a constructed space used to test reality and imagine alternative conditions.

The viewing experience follows the logic of a personal archive, with films presented as fragments connected through rhythm and repetition. CIFRA describes it as “quietly scrolling through a phone gallery late at night, with the screen as the only light.”

A Diary of Private/Public Escapes is available to view online at CIFRA from 15 April through 20 May.