In History Holds Form, ult Society explores the practice of Emirati artist Salmah Almansoori and her ongoing engagement with memory, place, and the traces left behind by people and communities. Drawing from her hometown of Ghayathi and her journeys across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Almansoori collects abandoned objects, photographs, fragments, and materials that hold connections to personal and collective histories.
The article follows the evolution of her multidisciplinary practice, from found objects and photography to handmade paper, laser engraving, painting, and mixed media. At the heart of her work is a process she describes as “speculative archiving” an approach that allows memory to remain incomplete, shifting, and open to interpretation.
Through materials such as palm and alfalfa fibres, found objects, spices, and handmade papers, Almansoori transforms fragments of lived experience into physical forms of remembrance. Her work considers what remains when places change, objects are separated from their owners, and histories risk disappearing.
