Growing up, Khaled Makhshoush had no ambitions of becoming an artist.
Driven by a curiosity of the universe, he studied physics and astronomy. However, a year into his studies in the US, he realised that a career in science wasn’t for him. Upon returning to Saudi, Khaled stumbled into the world of art and started off by helping his friend design and create art for a video game that he was programming. The technical side of art design wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be, but Khaled quickly found pixel art to be a fascinating way to express himself.
“When I started out in 2016, I told myself that I will learn how to make art and then come back to video game design,” the Riyadh-based artist says. “But I found that sketching scenes with a basic stylus and iPad and translating these scenes into pixels was an interesting way to express myself. I eventually stuck to that.”
Exploration and Imagination
At the beginning, Khaled’s art was very imaginative and often influenced by the dystopian or futuristic world of video games. But as his art evolved, so did his focus.
“My work focuses on landscapes and places and anything that’s related to physical space like distance,” he explains. “There’s a special feeling that I get each time I visit a place. Depending on the time and the lighting, there’s an atmosphere and emotion to a place.”
He tries to capture that through a process of exploration and imagination. For example, Khaled might use Google’s Street View feature to virtually “go to” Japan and be inspired by its diverse streets and landscapes or take a physical walk through the streets of Riyadh. He shares an example of making frequent treks down to the capital’s Abu Bakr Street to gain inspiration and sketch his observations.
Speaking of the city, the artist who reimagines it pixel by pixel, like a scene from a favourite video game, adds that drawing Riyadh is like “painting someone you know or are familiar with”.
One of Khaled’s popular artworks, Early Evening, is a composite of various streets in Riyadh, yet it feels strangely familiar to those who see it. It features a highway, lots of construction, detours, and signposts. “It’s very typical of King Abdullah Street,” he explains. “People would tell me they recognise the street, but they can’t place it. That’s because it’s not real, but it feels real.”
His approach to creating these artworks has been to look at a place and ponder why it may make him feel a certain way. “I try to capture the atmosphere, light, the feeling of being in a certain place and at a certain time,” he explains. “And how do I capture that to make something new?”
A City in Transition
While the capital is in flux, with construction cranes dotting the skylines and new developments emerging almost overnight, Khaled notes that there is beauty in this present state.
“Some people have strong opinions about all the construction, the traffic, the cranes, the flickering lights,” he says. “But for me, there’s magic in it. So, in a way, I like to capture it as I see it, without judgement.”
The creative known for his laser-sharp attention to detail is inspired by the transitionary period between the old and the new. He recalls a time, not too long ago, when the city was at a standstill. And now, spurred by Vision 2030, developments are rapidly taking place.
“I want to capture the moment we’re in now,” Khaled says. “This in-between space where things are being built, where the future is taking shape but isn’t fully realised yet.”
An Outsider Perspective
Most recently, Khaled’s work has been displayed at Noor Riyadh and MDLBeast Soundstorm.
His work often sparks discussions about the future of Riyadh, as well as the broader transformation happening across the country. The artist, who is also behind works like Saturday Morning and Gas Station, notes that it is interesting to see people who are outside the region react to his art. “Some said Riyadh is futuristic, like out of science fiction, but I don’t intend to make it that way, but rather current. Hopefully in the future, people will look at it and say: ‘Oh this is how things were.’”
Makhshoush's next project is also an exploration of the city. Through his art, he hopes to offer a new perspective on a place he knows intimately, while also inviting the world to see Riyadh through his eyes – alive with colour and full of possibility.
