Three Emirati artists display their work commissioned by the Abu Dhabi Festival this weekend. Among them is a digital painting of an Emirati grandfather, printed on wood and free-standing, which is flanked by two paintings of young boys. Between the artworks is an empty frame filled with sand – the Emirati artist Fatma Lootah’s way of expressing the gulf between the youngest and oldest generations, and reminding us of the true wealth of her country – the desert.
Lootah, who lives in Italy but returns regularly to show her work and take part in other artistic enterprises, is one of three artists whose commissioned work will be launched at Emirates Palace as part of the Abu Dhabi Festival.
“The desert gave us our wealth before the oil,” she says. “The nature, the air, the peace – we must all retain a strong connection with the desert.”
Her artwork, titled Perfume of the Earth, reminisces about the past, but also drives her message home to young people.
“All eras of the UAE are important, but the previous generations are really the most critical,” she says.
“Without them, the UAE would not be as it is now. The newest generation must remember that and stay connected, not just with that memory but with the earth.”
Noor Al Suwaidi has two paintings from her newest series In Ode to the Bouquets.
Although Al Suwaidi is often concerned with the figure, for this series she was inspired by an exhibition she saw at the Dallas Museum of Art on 19th-century floral still-life.
“It was breathtaking and it brought back memories of when I was a child,” she says. “I started thinking about my first visual memories and I realised a lot of my work has centred on organic shapes and forms, and the colour palettes from nature, so I started painting flowers.
“I want to bring beauty into people’s lives. With everything happening politically right now, me choosing not to reflect on that as an Arab artist is a statement in itself. This is a celebration of life, beauty and culture. My message is to stop and smell the roses.”
The third artist, Sawsan Al Bahar, will present Wra'a il Zaman – Leaves of Time, a piece that was shortlisted for this year's Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award.
The installation is a depiction of the state of suspension in which Palestinian refugees live.
Inspired by old printed Arabic calendars, it consists of suspended, 3-D sculptural pieces carrying key dates since the Nakba or catastrophe of 1948. The work resembles sheets of paper blowing in the breeze and captures a frozen moment in time.
• Artworks by Fatma Lootah and Noor Al Suwaidi will go on display from Saturday until April 20 at the Emirates Palace gallery. Sawsan Al Bahar’s paintings will be shown until April 2 at the hotel’s auditorium foyer
aseaman@thenational.ae
