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| east – east: an exhibition evite . 2016 |
i've finally managed to write a new blog post from my new home for the next couple of years - providence, rhode island. it's been a month and still adjusting to a new lifestyle and being a student again (details in previous post here).
i will be sharing my experiences and projects at risd in future posts. but for now, i'd like to share an e-vite for an upcoming exhibition back home in the uae, specifically in abu dhabi. i will be participating in 'east – east: an exhibition' curated by nyu abu dhabi student sophie arni, founder of global art daily. below are extracts from the press release with details on the exhibition:
"east – east: an exhibition will explore the ways young voices of the emirati art scene choose to regard cross-cultural contact with the arts of japan. the exhibition will aim to draw parallels between japanese and emirati culture as both traditional societies move rapidly forward into our postmodern age and strive to keep a balance between heritage and futurism. east – east also intends to challenge and expand the idea of what 'global art' means to artists, curators, and viewers alike in our increasingly globalized world.
bridging the uae to japan seems like a bold move but as curator sophie mayuko arni explains: 'i wanted to break the overused and overheard ‘east-west’ terminology by turning it on its head. why always look to the west, when we can look eastwards? I hope for east – east to be a great
experiment for a new model of global contemporary art making and exhibition practices.
works on show will explore the similarity in both countries’ fine balance between rooted tradition and expanding modernity. themes as nōh and bedouin mythology, spirituality and repetition, weaving and knotting, zen buddhism and the desert’s connection to materiality, traditional and ceremonial dress, will be contrasted to overwhelming consumption typified by plastic materials in such chain stores as daiso. the exhibition as such will combine the emirati artist's established styles with japanese stylistic elements in a contemporary socially-aware context. four years ahead of dubai and tokyo hosting the expo and olympics respectively, the occasion seems fitting to celebrate these two cultures together to further solidify their place on the global art map.”
east – east opens at 6pm, on tuesday, 18 october 2016, at the nyu abu dhabi art center project space, featuring the works of 4 artists including al anood al obaidly, amna al maamari, ahmed al anzi, and myself. if you're in town, please do make sure to pass by and check out the exhibition, which runs until 31 october 2016. i will be exhibiting a series of new illustrations, one of them being used in the e-vite you see above. stay tuned for my next post, where i will feature the final illustrations from the show.