With a mix of arabesque design and AI-generated imagery, artist Jason Seife’s latest exhibition bears elements of the intricate and the infinite.
Titled Generascope, his first solo show in the region is currently on view at ICD Brookfield Place in the Dubai International Financial Centre and features four new paintings, 50 prints of his NFT artworks and a digital animation shown on a large, immersive screen display.
Of Cuban and Syrian heritage, Seife was born in Miami and partly raised by an Iranian aunt. Growing up, he was surrounded by traditional Oriental rugs, the designs of which fascinated him so much from a young age that he drew them for a high school project.
With a background in graphic design, he began producing paintings in 2013 that he would become known for — detailed replications of arabesque carpets, transferred from textile to paint on canvas.
Playing with texture and material, Seife has also produced works with acrylic on concrete. In these pieces, he renders ornate patterns on the concrete surface while leaving gaps exposed or treated in a way that mimics sand, an effect that makes it seem as though the designs are emerging from a ruin.
To further his study of traditional textiles, he travelled to Morocco, Turkey, Iran and Syria to meet with carpet-weavers and artists.
Four meticulously executed paintings, produced in the past year, are on view as part of the show at ICD Brookfield Place, which is also presenting new elements in the artist’s practice, specifically his venture into generative art.
In late 2021, he collaborated with developer Andrew Cassetti to create an algorithmic code that turned 11 hand-drawn images (also called “seed images”) into infinite iterations of designs. In the end, Seife decided on 1,111 versions to be sold as NFTs on OpenSea. His first digital artwork sold for $100,000.
The algorithm is able to do this by splicing, mirroring and reflecting the units within the patterns, producing unconventional visuals that go outside of recognisable traditional patterns and motifs.
“My goal is to push this art form in any way I can,” Seife tells The National. “I went to Iran and Syria, both places are part of my heritage and where this art form started, and I wanted to understand what the rules were so I could go and see where I can bend and break them.”
He explains that his decision to go digital has its practical side. For one, he can produce new works faster. In comparison, his paintings take weeks or months to complete, as he has to sketch out a pattern before drawing it on canvas and painstakingly paint the elements by hand. At present he works alone, without assistants.
Seife says that through NFTs, he is also able to reach more audiences who are able to experience his creations in a different way via screens.
“People can zoom in and take time to see things in the artwork,” he says. “Instead of doing 100 prints of the same piece, with this I can still have differentiation within the pieces. It’s a great way for me to bring a wider audience into my work."
With the generative works, he says, the hand-drawn aspects are still there, this time combined with new configurations that, at times, surprise even the artist.
“Sometimes three-headed figures come out of it,” he says.
He gives the example of a bird, a common motif in traditional rugs. “I would normally draw the full figure, but the algorithm creates its own shape where only a part of it is used.”
This change is evident in his latest paintings, too, which are a departure from his previous works. Their patterns have not been pulled from classic arabesque designs, but from the AI-generated visuals, a kind of cycle from the analogue to the digital and back again.
Though the paintings bear familiarity to Orientalist designs, there is a strange glitch dissonance, producing a more structured and symmetrical kaleidoscopic look as opposed to the more richly detailed florals and patterns of works past.
With this process, Seife is experimenting with ways to bridge his formal painting and digital practices.
“When I approach a painting, there are certain things, compositionally, that I would not do. Since I’ve based these paintings on algorithmic outputs and recreating them on canvas, I’m finding these little elements that were in the original and have now become a new shape,” he says.
“It’s interesting to have this almost ‘forced’ version of my work, where the algorithm rearranges the artwork in a new way, then I make a painting out of it."
Despite these projects, Seife insists that his primary interest remains with putting the brush to canvas. “I’m a painter still. Even these digital works are coming from hand drawings, and they’ll always go back to that.” His approach to working with algorithms, he says, is to enable more versions of his work while still retaining the uniqueness of each pattern.
"[Generascope] was exciting to me because it was really collaborative. I’ve always used digital and analogue and bounced between the two, and with this I feel like this is a collaboration with a computer where the original ones become something else."
Generascope is on view at ICD Brookfield Place until April 3.
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
Company%20profile
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Scorebox
Sharjah Wanderers 20-25 Dubai Tigers (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries Gormley, Penalty
Cons Flaherty
Pens Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons Caldwell 2
Pens Caldwell, Cross
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SE%20(second%20generation)
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War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
TOP%2010%20MOST%20POLLUTED%20CITIES
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
Sweet%20Tooth
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJim%20Mickle%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristian%20Convery%2C%20Nonso%20Anozie%2C%20Adeel%20Akhtar%2C%20Stefania%20LaVie%20Owen%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
3pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,400m, Winner: Lancienegaboulevard, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Fawzi Nass (trainer).
3.35pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m, Winner: Al Mukhtar Star, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
4.10pm: Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: Gundogdu, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.45pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Speedy Move, Sean Kirrane, Satish Seemar.
5.20pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Moqarrar, Dane O’Neill, Erwan Charpy.
5.55pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Dolman, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
MATCH INFO
Liverpool v Manchester City, Sunday, 8.30pm UAE
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
AUSTRALIA%20SQUAD
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The%20specs%3A%20Panamera%20Turbo%20E-Hybrid
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The%20specs%3A%202024%20Panamera
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23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
if you go
The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.
The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.
Moonfall
Director: Rolan Emmerich
Stars: Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry
Rating: 3/5
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.