Are they works of art or self-disclosures? A question arises for visitors to the exhibition “Society and Art Criticism”, which includes the works of the participants of the sixth installment of the Salama Bint Hamdan Young Artists Grant Program, which opened yesterday evening at the 421 Exhibition in Abu Dhabi Port and will run until 24 November.
Although the participants in the “Community and Art Criticism” were free to choose their business topics, the visitor can touch a hidden thread that combines most of these works, which is to try to dive into the human soul from the self, and to create confrontations with them and the community, through multiple trips. Between past and present, or between memories that have long settled in the minds of the mind, but refuse to return to impose itself on the present and the future from time to time, comes the result of this self-movement is shocking in one way or another, such as the title chosen by Fatima Farah for her painting, which tops the entrance to the exhibition: « “I told you I'm not okay,” she says Despite her white background, Raya is full of painful faces, overlapping symbols and expressions of pain, suffering and consolation in both Arabic and English.
The painting expresses the artist's personal experience with the disease, when she discovered that she had a fibromyalgia syndrome, and doctors were puzzled whether the disease was the result of a bad psychological condition, or is it the disease that caused a mental illness.
Inspired memories
Rawda al-Ketbi derives the idea of her work «Nahas» from the impact of time in metals, as it rusted, and the implications of this idea of detention and restraint, which refers to the impact of memories, and associated feelings, in humans, especially since her previous work centered on memories Neglected and the idea of the presence or absence of the soul.
Memories were also the source of the work that Rashid Al Falasi participated in the exhibition, to express the fears he had when he came to his bed in the evening, as he imagines darkness like an empty black plate, and there is no escape from recalling every memory he has experienced before. Also insomnia night was the motive for Aisha bin Khadia, to present her work, which consists of a bedroom with personal things, and expresses her journey in the discovery of self, and the stages of suffering with insomnia, even as an oasis of discourse from the outside world.
Sultan Al Rumaithi, in his work, recalls the "memories of nights" we spend with friends at concerts or festivals, or those associated with a particular piece of music that "changed our lives forever," as he put it, to seek through this work to create an immersive experience involving four sections, namely : Sound, color, reflection and light.
Al-Rumaithi's doe focused on how to translate memories in the human mind and their implications for the environment.
Shamma al-Bastaki was inspired by her memories of the dolls, her mother and grandmother's association with her, and works of art through which she tries to explore her "maternal offspring," and personally verify her through her inheritance from her mother.
Wad al-Bayati's work, which consists of a room filled with hammocks, takes the personal memory as a springboard to navigate various topics such as identity, belonging, alienation, and shared human experiences.
In her work, Zeina Al-Qattan tends to study the impact of memories on human behaviors, as well as the societies in which we grow, starting from a personal perspective by looking at her own memories to create new, often cynical scenarios of everyday issues.
While Christopher Benton was inspired by Say No to the busy residential neighborhoods of his time in Dubai's Satwa district, Arwa al-Salami in her series `` They '' dealt with feelings of alienation, awe and dealing with social constraints.The paintings were characterized by their bright colors like yellow, red and orange.
The exhibition also featured works that went beyond the circle of memories, such as the work of Latifa Saeed, inspired by the construction cycle of the islands, and the work of Lian Atari, whose idea was derived from the Dubai dancing fountain, and Saba Kizilbash, which presented drawings focusing on the divided land, inspired by her travels to India and Pakistan.
His virtual sun has tended to criticize social phenomena, such as waste and waste in food and space.
Personal choices
Director of Culture, Arts and Heritage at the Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, Khulood Khaldoun Al-Atiyat, told Emirates Today that the exhibition, which kicked off the 421th exhibition, is a product of the Salama Bint Hamdan Artists Grant Program. Youth, with the participation of 15 artists. She attributed the repetition of certain ideas, such as the return of personal memories, in the works of art on display, that the artists participating in the program and exhibition, like other creators, tend to address personal experiences, family and daily in their work, and often the least happy experiences are the most influential in humans, and remain In memory and thus appear in various artistic and creative works, arts and literature are considered a way to overcome the painful difficulties and experiences.
“For me, I envy the artist because he can express his different emotions through his art, and in general we are keen on the Salama Bint Hamdan Scholarship Program for emerging artists, not to interfere in the selection of topics of work presented by the participants, but we urge them to express their feelings and ideas through methods "The technical materials are available and they prefer."
"vacuum"
"Society and Art Criticism" coincided with the unveiling of the exhibition "Empty" by the artist Maitha Abdullah, which will continue until 13 October next in the "421 Exhibition", and deals with the feeling of emptiness, both in terms of place and at the level of sensations, and its gradual shift towards emptiness, then memory, Then wait for the new beginnings. Maitha Abdulla explained to Emirates Today that the exhibition consists of two parts, the first showing a video titled “Emptiness”, in which she performs a theatrical performance, and the second includes anthropomorphic paintings and painting, entitled “Rebirth”, which she performed in a theatrical way, so that each of them presents a specific story. In the end the idea of rebirth, which indicates that the inner void may lead to a rebirth or the emergence of a new goal in life.
She added: «I believe that the vacuum is in the same of each of us, and sometimes affects man without expectation, it needs a period to absorb the idea, and to gather strength to resume life again». Maitha pointed out that all her works are of a theatrical and performing character, pointing out her insistence on providing the performance work herself without the use of another person, because she is the most able to convey her idea, and stated that the period of preparation of the work was relatively short, and did not exceed almost a month.
4 pillars
The Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation collaborates with the Rhode Island School of Design to deliver the Salama Bint Hamdan Scholarship for Young Artists, a unique education and development program designed to enhance and develop artistic skills over a 10-month period.
The program consists of four pillars: technical development process, criticism process, immersive artistic applications in the studio environment, and the online community of participating artists. Through the Abu Dhabi teaching sessions, educational visits to the United States, mentoring activities, online discussions, and access to fellow participants, the program allows participants to develop their technical skills, develop a deeper understanding of their own work and its impact, and enhance their ability to express their ideas. Dedicated studios are available 24/7.
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Artist participating in the exhibition «Society and Art Criticism».