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Emirati Expressions: Art from the Heart of the Emirates - February 2009

By Valerie Grove

This is the biggest show to date of Emirati artists and Abu Dhabi has gone for it a big way. It runs until April 16th at Gallery One in the Emirates Palace Hotel, features 64 artists, a programme of events and an unusually impressive website! The show was organized by Dubai’s Art Connection and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), and was curated by Anne Baldassari, director of the Musée National Picasso in Paris.

Baldassari has transformed Gallery One into a walk-in black box and the spotlighted work seems to glow in the context of entirely black walls, floor and ceiling. The smoked mirror across the end wall adds an extra subterranean disorientation reminiscent of ghostly fairground attractions.

This was particularly appropriate for Husband 1 and Wife 2 by Maisoon Al Saleh depicting two skeletons in their wedding clothes, but the dark and gothic sensibility I have noticed before in Emirati work is evident elsewhere in this show. This is mostly in the form of atmospheric digital composites but Jalal Luqman takes it to another level by housing his tormented figures in huge industrial metal frames.

Other works that looked very comfortable in the darkness were Jamila Al Suwaidi’s ‘Astro-photographs’ of lunar and solar eclipses and other astronomical events, and Abeer Al Tahlak’s transparent multi-layered installation with superimposed text. It was good to see work by veterans Dr. Najat Makki and Abdel Rahim Salem alongside newer painters such as Wasel Safwan. It was also good to see contemporary art pioneers Hassan and Hussein Sharif especially given doubts about the participation of any Flying House artists in this show.

Several artists in the show had also participated in Suhoor: an Emirati Exhibition in Dubai last December and many were showing exactly the same work.  The most notable addition to this was Reem Al Ghaith’s impressive wall installation Dubai: What’s left of her land? a piece that will also feature in the Sharjah Biennale later this year.

Much of the calligraphy also had a contemporary twist. Mohammed Mandi’s painted works on leather looked like prints, while Nassim al Majed used brass and Italian glass mosaics to create script on Indonesian volcanic rock. Faiza Al Mubarak’s ornate and chunky book-like sculptures also contained a very tactile and interesting mix of materials and the larger sculptures, like Azza Al Qubaisi’s metal works and Mohammed Yousef’s smooth wooden thumb, provided some quirky dimensional diversity.

There seemed to be a lot of photography and a predominance of work influenced by technology and graphic design. This perhaps reflects the greater availability of education in these subjects in the UAE and graduates from the American University of Sharjah’s, School of Architecture and Design were particularly well represented.

One of these was Khuloud Sharafi whose series of mixed media works depicting Umm Kalthoum were one of the show’s highlights. Umm Kalthoum’s image is ubiquitous and has often been used in art from the region which makes new depictions a risky undertaking. However, Al Sharafi’s simple association of her image with the audio technology of her time worked very well and using a transfer print and etching on an old vinyl record was inspired.

Also inspired was a video made by filmmakers collective The Circle which featured cut up sound bites from interviews with all the participating artists. In an environment where local artists have had little public exposure and where art is a relatively new career choice, the video and exhibition combined provided a long overdue and very personal introduction.

Emirati Expressions: Art from the heart of the Emirates, Gallery One, Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi until 16th April 2009