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| al shabab cafeteria . 2016 |
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| eat & drink restaurant . 2016 |
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| fast meal restaurant . 2016 |
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| pearl star restaurant & cafeteria . 2016 |
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| shaikha cafeteria . 2016 |
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| tasty food restaurant . 2016 |
i've worked on a new series of illustrations titled 'cafeterias of the uae' which was a recent commission for the abu dhabi music & arts foundation (admaf)'s current exhibition 'portrait of a nation' - bringing together a selection of uae's practicing artists and presenting their reflections and perspectives on their homeland. below is the statement on my approach to the commission:
"the
uae has a rich history of ‘shawarma’ shops and cafeterias all across the
country, catering to not just specific communities in the uae, but the entire
nation as a whole. emiratis, expats and everyone in between flock to these
cafeterias daily for an affordable sandwich, a humorously titled juice, or a
plastic cup of sugared, steaming hot chai! these cafeterias are iconic
structures in the uae's culture and urban landscape. not only are they places
of social encounters, but places of deep context in understanding food culture
of the uae. through illustration, i would like to archive
these cafeterias as important, iconic institutions and it’s
importance to their communities. in
the uae, major cities like dubai and abu dhabi are growing at an exceptionally
fast pace, changing the landscape of a city tremendously, with things of the
past unfortunately getting lost. only time will tell if these cafeterias will
survive through these current changes. i hope these illustrations would act as
a form of documentation and nostalgia for anyone that has encountered these
cafeterias while growing up in the uae."
'portrait of a nation' is currently open for viewing and is located at the emirates palace. if in abu dhabi, please do make your way to the show. for more information on the exhibition and timings, head to the link here.
this is definitely not the end of this series and only just the beginning. i would like to document more cafeterias around the uae and create a publication about it so stay tuned folks. thank you admaf for the opportunity, your hard work, and getting me started on this series. i end this post with the illustrations as displayed in the exhibition, as well as an image of khalil abdul wahid's sweet artwork based on my process for this project from his series 'artist tools'.
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| 'cafeterias of the uae' at portrait of a nation . 2016 |
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| 'artist tools (khalid mezaina)' by khalil abdul wahid . 2016 |
