©Abeer Sultan & Noor Riyadh

I Will Take The Sun In My Mouth 
سأحبس الشمس في فمي


2023
Three-channel Projection, palm trees, rocks, sand, LED light
04:15 mins, colour, with audio

‘Refracted Identities’, Shared Futures” Noor Riyadh Festival, 2023.
“I will take the sun
In my mouth
And leap into
The ripe air
Alive with closed eyes”

— Björk, ‘Sun In My Mouth’

‘I Will Take the Sun In My Mouth’ is a video installation that explores the intertwined spaces of Riyadh and Jeddah cities through Sultan’s three-screen projection. The film documents everyday life, capturing moments from the bustling fish market and cat street fight to her nieces praying in her mother's living room. The installation invites viewers to ponder Gaston Bachelard’s notion of “Intimate Immensity” as it navigates the often contradictory spaces we inhabit—both domestic and public—and reflects on how individuals manage the limitations and boundless possibilities of their memories.

In this film, Sultan attempts to underscore the mundane activities of her home as a parallel to the seascape of the Red Sea. By juxtaposing these elements, she creates a tapestry that reveals the joyous moments of everyday life while evoking a sense of longing. The sound design serves as a dialogical intervention, merging the present with the past. The spoken poetry possesses a boundless quality, as it calls upon the spirit of an ancestor who once lived near the sea. Through metaphorically swallowing the sun, the narrator embarks on a journey back in time, perhaps reconnecting with a longed-for family member.

The installation features decaying palm trees that contrast the vibrancy of the projected images, creating a sullen atmosphere. The blue light that permeates the palm trees transforms them into bodies on the cusp of mortality, symbolising the anguish of her inner landscape. In this way, Sultan centres the colour blue, utilising its emotional resonance to convey her feelings, particularly loss and joy– evoking the delicate balance between melancholy and serenity.

References
Bachelard, G. (1994). The poetics of space (M. Jolas, Trans.). Beacon Press.

Writers
Maha Ibrahim
Abeer Sultan
Translator
Maha Ibrahim
Editor
Rund Al Arabi

Director
Abeer Sultan
Camera Person
Mbarak Madhi (Jeddah)
Abeer Sultan (Riyadh)
Color Grading
Mbarak Madhi
Editor
Abeer Sultan

Spoken Word
Sumaya Fallatah
Abeer Sultan

Woman praying.
Nadiah Al Balushi (Mother)
Children eating, playing, praying.
Lulu Sultan
Danah Sultan
Al Jazi Sultan
Women praying together.
Sumaya Al momen
Sumaya Fallatah
Latifa Al Bokhari
Woman in the water.
Dalal Madhi

Special Thanks to
Amal Sultan
Arwa Al Sari
Fai Ahmed  
Dania Jaber














© 2025 Abeer Sultan