Sixteen artists from five MENA countries are exhibiting work in the UK’s prestigious Yorkshire Sculpture Park for the next two months. They include Mohamed Khalid, an Emirati from Dubai whose photography project Dirty Messages aims to capture some of the many anonymous messages found in the streets of Dubai.
Dubai is often referred to as one of the most expensive cities in the world, helped by the discovery of oil and gas in the region that brought modernisation to the centre. Despite this, the forgotten suburbs of the city are filled with unfinished buildings and crumbling remains of old towns. Abandoned construction projects on the outskirts of the city become layered with the desert sand that form blank canvases upon which people write thoughts and ideas. The artist sees these windows as a platform for storytelling. The work will be part of Beyond Boundaries: Art by Email, an exhibition that gives a platform to those who can’t physically visit the park and celebrates the notion that ideas and art can travel even if people cannot. It is also an attempt to shed light on political situations and immigration conditions. Also included is Iranian artist Sahand Hesamiyan, who is represented by Dubai’s The Third Line. He will have an abstract sculpture printed in 3D during the exhibition. The instructions for it were submitted via email.
The full list of artists featured is here: Mai Al Shazly, Egypt; Sabr Dri, Iraqi Kurdistan; Fathi Hawas, Egypt; Sahand Hesamiyan, Iran; Hamid Jamal, Iraqi Kurdistan; Mohamed Khalid, United Arab Emirates; Younes Mohammad, Iraqi Kurdistan; Shadi Noyani, Iran; Awder Osman, Iraqi Kurdistan; Zardasht Osman, Iraqi Kurdistan; Azar Othman, Iraqi Kurdistan; Wahby Rasool, Iraqi Kurdistan; Shawnm Raza, Iraqi Kurdistan; Burhan Sabir, Iraqi Kurdistan; Bnar Sardar, Iraqi Kurdistan; and Baris Seyitvan, Turkey. www.ysp.co.uk
aseaman@thenational.ae