Today is the last day to catch Simeen Farhat’s exhibition of sculptural works at XVA Gallery. Although, if you can’t make it today, don’t worry the gallery, which is also a stunning hotel in the middle of historic Al Fahidi Neighbourhood will be keeping a lot of the pieces in place around the hotel. Here, I caught up with Simeen for a quick interview to help you understand her works that are made up of resin cast lettering in English and Arabic.
Q: The letters in these sculptures are words of your poetry; are they complete poems or excerpts?
A: Sometimes, I use the entire poem, other times, just excerpts. For some of these sculptures, I used my own poems or prose poems. But there are a few other pieces, such as the blue piece, Sand the red piece, , I used the poems of my friend, Brett Bourbon, who has inspired me and my work, as well encouraged me to write.
Here is one of Brett's Poems, excepts of which I that I used in :
We, my love, must live either
on the same road or under the same
sky. Which is it for us? The planks
ahead or the all-same, the weather
falling down, the sky tilting away,
or storming like arrows upon us
Q: What do you think of first, the poem or the artwork?
It can be either way. Sometimes a poem leads to an artwork and then I work around the essence of the poem. Other times, I have an idea or a concept, or a form, and I then use words accordingly.
Q: They are never legible as poems when they are in the artwork form - is that important for you as an artist? Doesn’t it take away from the meaning of the poem?
My aim is to get the essence of the poem through its form and as a sculpture. At times, the words may be identified somewhere in the composition of the artwork. If people are interested to read what they say (which they do most of the times), then they can always read the poem; usually provided at the venue where the works are displayed, or from me directly.
Q: What about each form of the sculptures - how do you decide on those?
A: The forms are achieved both randomly--by simply arranging them in some order as I build them up--or they can be some compositions, that germinate from an idea or a poem; with well-planned sketches and thought processes for even longer than a year. For artworks such as A Bubble that Burst, for example, or, The Black Sleep, I first thought of the images, in relation to the poems and ideas they were depicting in what you see in the shapes of those the sculptures.
Q: There is one piece that has a painting of you under the texts on a surface of a mirror. Is that a new direction for you?
A: I was very happy to see the result of that piece. I have been playing with the human forms as drawings and paintings, and as photographic images in my work lately. It was a challenge at first; which I think was successfully resolved. Yes, I have many other plans to create works in the similar visual composition and technique. I believe in experimentations, challenges, accidents and a deeper thought process and understanding when it comes to my art.
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Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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- 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
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- 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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UAE SQUAD FOR ASIAN JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIP
Men’s squad: Faisal Al Ketbi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Kathiri, Thiab Al Nuaimi, Khaled Al Shehhi, Mohamed Ali Al Suwaidi, Farraj Khaled Al Awlaqi, Muhammad Al Ameri, Mahdi Al Awlaqi, Saeed Al Qubaisi, Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Hazaa Farhan
Women's squad: Hamda Al Shekheili, Shouq Al Dhanhani, Balqis Abdullah, Sharifa Al Namani, Asma Al Hosani, Maitha Sultan, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Maha Al Hanaei, Shamma Al Kalbani, Haya Al Jahuri, Mahra Mahfouz, Marwa Al Hosani, Tasneem Al Jahoori and Maryam Al Amri
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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
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Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
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Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
