When Fatma Lootah first walked into Al Wasl Plaza, during Expo 2020 Dubai, she looked up to the dome and, as much as its retro-yet-futuristic aesthetics struck her with awe, she felt a sense of clarity and warmth.
Now, with her artwork, Noor ‘Ala Noor, Arabic for Light Upon Light, she seeks to instil in others the same feelings.
The installation is a centrepiece of the second Dhai Dubai – the light art exhibition taking place at Expo City until November 19 – and marks the first time an Emirati artist has used the landmark Al Wasl Plaza as a canvas for their work.
The work is the festival’s largest to date. It is, in some way, a striking statement of intent as Expo City Dubai prepares to enter a new phase with the introduction of a permanent arts space.
Projected across the interior of the dome’s full 130-metre span, Noor ‘Ala Noor draws inspiration from verse 35 of Surah An-Nur. The verse describes divine light through a series of metaphors, including that of a radiant lamp enclosed in glass and illuminated by the oil of an olive tree.
Lootah presents this imagery within the work. The projections show olive trees rustling vibrantly against the dome’s lattice-like steel framework, oil dripping in large droplets and clouds breaking apart to reveal streaks of sunlight.
“My work usually has this point of light that I look for and try to pass on to other people,” she says. “This verse is one of the most beautiful and instils this light. All its details, its imagery fills the heart.”
While the dome’s design and advanced technology have often been used to deliver spectacle, from ceremonies to large-scale performances during Expo 2020 Dubai, Noor ‘Ala Noor takes its innovative composition in another direction.
The scale of the art installation isn’t overwhelming; instead it seeks to address viewers individually. Even when experienced collectively, it prompts stillness and awe, striking a self-reflective cord. The work’s soundscape goes a long way in achieving this, gliding from atmospheric washes of sound to more epic timbres with lilts and frequencies inspired by the phonetics of Surah An-Nur. It concludes by showing the verses projected on the dome.
Lootah is one of the seven Emirati artists exhibiting at the second Dhai Dubai. Each work within the exhibition draws from Emirati culture and interprets traditions and materials in an innovative way. Some draw from personal histories, such as Hessa Al Ghandi’s Al Shibriya enlarging the traditional seat into a neon-speckled installation, its scale recalling how the artist remembers her grandfather seated on it.
Mohammed Kazem, meanwhile, is presenting a towering iteration from his Directions series, subtitled Expo City Dubai. Kazem has produced several works informed by latitudes and longitudes, most of which are under the same series. He presented a digital installation at Art Dubai earlier this year.
The installation at Dhai Dubai rises in a twist of steel numerals, each laser-cut with co-ordinates, with light emanating from within. The co-ordinates, Kazem says, draw from his own life, as well as the general vicinity of Expo City Dubai.
“The co-ordinates are the place I was born in Deira, close to the Naif police station, the place where I have my studio,” he says. Kazem adds that he intends for visitors of Expo City Dubai to interact with the piece, whether sitting on the numbers or walking through them.
Then there are works that are inspired by the movements and inherited knowledge of the past. Ahmad Alareef’s Mowasim Symphony is inspired by three interconnected systems of traditional Emirati knowledge. These include the seasonal calendar (Dirat Al Droor), the wind compass (Bousolat al-Riyah), and the sundial (Al Lamad).
The installation merges these together, with pillar-like fouls positioned around the central sundial. The installation has been set up with remarkable positioning.
It brings these elements together through a series of pillar-like forms arranged around a central sundial.
The placement of the pillars is deliberate. At night, the work mesmerises with its internal illumination, glowing ember-like with the names of seasons and winds.
But it is during the day that it becomes particularly thought-provoking, casting shadows that pinpoint wind and humidity patterns, among other seasonal changes.
Alzaina Lootah, meanwhile, looked to the natural landscape around Dubai, using the layout of its dunes to inspire new, glowing tent-like forms.
Whispers of the Desert is a two-part installation that reimagines the Bedouin tent with a distinct, futuristic aesthetic.
“As an architect, I always like to explore new geometries,” Lootah says. “This geometry purely comes from the landscape of UAE, the architecture of landscapes, the oases and all of these natural landscapes.”
The centre of the installation is a majlis area, with cushioned seats positioned around a fire. “I wanted the visitor to have an experience,” Lootah says. “It's like walking into a community space, where people are gathered.”
In Grains, Alia bin Omair takes cues from gold granulation – an ancient technique where small metal spheres were clustered and fused to create textured surfaces. The artist assembles large bulbous gold beads in a pathway leading up to Al Wasl Dome. Like pieces of jewellery, the beads had an opening in them, projecting light up to the sky.
Khalid Al Banna, meanwhile, forges another path. He returns to motifs from an earlier mural – a composition of ink and interlocking geometries – and reimagines them as monumental sculptural forms animated by internal light.
The motifs draw on his childhood memories, incorporating forms that feel vaguely familiar, like triangular details reminiscent of the patterns on old Emirati doors, or a metal stud similar those found on traditional chests.
Overall, the works in the second Dhai Dubai animate Expo City Dubai with their bold reinterpretations of Emirati culture. And, much like the works from the inaugural event, such as Najat Makki’s Scent of Memories, it is likely that they may become permanent fixtures in the area, even after Dhai Dubai concludes.
The event is also heralding an important new chapter for Expo City Dubai. Dhai Dubai’s conclusion will mark the opening on a new permanent space dedicated to encouraging creativity and empowering the next generation of artists.
“The concept of House of Arts comes from Dhai Dubai,” says Amna Abulhoul, curator of the exhibition and Expo City Dubai's executive creative director.
“In my mind, would love to train curators in the future. I won’t always be the curator of Dhai Dubai. I want to train a group of curators to take over. I will be someone who mentors them, but I need a space to train and teach, a home that that brings artists together to form a dialogue.”
The structure will contain several workspaces as well as exhibition areas. Several of the light pieces from the previous Dhai Dubai have already been moved to the new space.
“We wanted to create a community place where everyone can come and express themselves in a form of art, from music, from workshops, from different collaborations from across the GCC,” Abulhoul says. “House of Arts could be home to foster these elements.”
