A collaborative artwork created by visitors to the Romanian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai is being exhibited at the One Wall Gallery in Index Mall, Dubai.
The artwork is inspired and titled after Romanian artist Constantin Brancusi's 1910 sculpture Sleeping Muse. It is the brainchild of designer Florin Cobuz and his Nod Design Lab team, who hosted a one-month interactive workshop at the Romanian Pavilion to create the artwork.
The installation is on display at Index Mall in Dubai International Financial Centre until July 14 and is currently up for sale with a price tag starting at $150,000.
“Brancusi made almost 12 versions of Sleeping Muse in 10 years,” Cobuz says. “He made it using different materials, like wood, stone and bronze. He was looking for perfection. We reinterpreted his artwork but with the people. So it isn’t perfect. The muse, the inspiration, is not perfect. And I wanted to show that.”
Sleeping Muse, the 2022 version, was created through a unique experiment combining a variety of design and crafting techniques, including 3D modelling, working with modern tools, traditional manufacturing and programming using a custom software.
Each participant was asked to create a code indicating the dimension and position of each piece. This was followed by manually or electrically cutting one or more wooden sticks and then attaching them to the 2.5-metre-high honeycomb structure.
“We had to design special software and an app for the project,” Cobuz says. “There were more than 7,500 people that took part in the construction.
"For each one, we had to register them on the app so that they can get information on the size and position of their stick. We then had to teach everybody how to cut the sticks using either electric or manual saws, then hammer each stick in the right position.
"It was hard work. More demanding than what we expected when we started.”
As such, each of the 27,000 wooden pieces making up Cobuz’s Sleeping Muse has unique imperfections, from chips and splinters to being banded by tape. “It also has this natural look,” Cobuz says. “It is perfect imperfection.”
People from 118 countries took part in the project, Cobuz said, including a number of prominent UAE figures such as Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence; Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Dr. Saeed Mubarak Kharbash Al Marri, chief executive of arts and literature at Dubai Culture and Arts Authority; and Reem Al Hashimi, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and managing director of Expo 2020 Dubai.
Sleeping Muse is the first artwork to be exhibited at the One Wall Gallery, the latest art-based initiative launched by Index Mall, which in March 2022 hosted an event titled Art in the Park.
The gallery aims to shine light on remarkable artworks and artists from across the globe and will serve as a platform to connect up-and-coming artists and the community.
“We are excited to exhibit the beautiful Sleeping Muse collaborative artwork at Index Mall,” says Magali Mouquet, executive director of Equitativa, the managing company behind Index Mall.
“It speaks to our values of bringing people together to achieve something greater than themselves. Every stick is someone's story, their contribution forever framed in a moment."
The bio
Favourite vegetable: Broccoli
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange
Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania
Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.
Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes
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Essentials
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Seattle from Dh6,755 return in economy and Dh24,775 in business class.
The cruise
UnCruise Adventures offers a variety of small-ship cruises in Alaska and around the world. A 14-day Alaska’s Inside Passage and San Juans Cruise from Seattle to Juneau or reverse costs from $4,695 (Dh17,246), including accommodation, food and most activities. Trips in 2019 start in April and run until September.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Company name: Dharma
Date started: 2018
Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: TravelTech
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures and results:
Monday, UAE won by three wickets
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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