Evening traffic on the E11 motorway in Abu Dhabi. Silvia Razgova / The National
Evening traffic on the E11 motorway in Abu Dhabi. Silvia Razgova / The National

Forget the cosy street art on the E11, give me roadside neon any day



Whenever I travel from Dubai to Abu Dhabi two landmarks on the E11 highway always grab my attention, depending on whether I'm travelling at night or by day.
Tucked inside an unexpected lay-by 15 kilometres or so beyond Ghantoot stands a bank of menacing white strip lights that glare, like an unnervingly man-sized Insect-O-Cutor that's designed to attract drivers like moths to a neon flame.
Other than a lone mobile phone mast, there are no signs that announce the lay-by's existence and by the time you see the mast, which is difficult in the nocturnal sodium fog that bathes the motorway, it's usually too late. At first I thought the bulbs belonged to an advertising hoarding that had lost its poster, but over time I've learned to look past their glare and realised that they actually adorn a cafe that I've never managed to spot when passing during the day.
At the best of times, I imagine the place to be a haven for tired drivers who prefer their karak chai dispensed in styrofoam, but I've never wanted to confirm this because I find the idea of stopping here terrifying.
If the unadorned banks of fluorescent fixtures are reminiscent of the work of the American minimalist artist Dan Flavin their location also lends them a terrifying aura that's pure David Lynch. A mixture of the Winkie's diner scene from Mulholland Drive and Twede's Cafe in Twin Peaks the lights, although purely functional, contain an ambiguity and degree of mystery that's entirely absent from the works that adorn the walls and electricity substations of Al Raha Beach.
The most visible Abu Dhabi-based examples of a rash of street art that's currently spreading throughout the emirates, these murals are cosy and sentimental one-liners; the aesthetic equivalent of a greeting card. The largest, which measures 600 metres long and adorns a rogue wall that runs beneath the Aldar headquarters, was completed by an international team led by the Miami-based Dominican painter Elio Mercado in 2016.
The move incensed UAE-based artists at the time, who believed such a prominent commission should have been awarded locally, but the bigger crime was not just in creating such a work to mask an architectural mistake but in underestimating local audiences.
"It's a perfect way to engage with a crowd that's not used to seeing art," Mercado told The National, seemingly unaware that he was addressing an audience well-used to Art Dubai and Abu Dhabi Art and to seeing street art by artists of the calibre of eL Seed.
If the Mercado wall is patronising, the kitsch that adorns the nearby substation – children smile as they blow bubbles and watch balloons drift – is the equivalent of a cloying advertisement that refuses to go away.
The work echoes Banksy's Girl with a Balloon, which was voted as Britain's best-loved artwork this week in a public poll alongside other crowd pleasers such as Peter Blake's Sgt Pepper album cover and The Singing Butler by Jack Vettriano. 
Originally stencilled on the side of bridge on London's Southbank in 2002, Banksy's work features a wind-blown girl watching her red, heart-shaped balloon as it blows away and has since become a staple of T-shirts, prints, souvenirs and greeting cards, which is arguably where it works best.
Like an illustration that fails to illuminate or an ad that misses its target, works like Mercado and Banksy's may catch the eye, but when it comes to repeated viewing they're as stimulating as wallpaper. When it comes to engaging my imagination, I'll take the bare bulbs of Ghantoot any day.

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures

October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA

New Zealand 57-0 South Africa

Tries: Rieko Ioane, Nehe Milner-Skudder (2), Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Ofa Tu'ungfasi, Lima Sopoaga, Codie Taylor. Conversions: Beauden Barrett (7). Penalty: Beauden Barrett

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Ain Dubai in numbers

126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure

1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch

16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.

5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place

192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.

Biog

Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara

He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada

Father of two sons, grandfather of six

Plays golf once a week

Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family

Walks for an hour every morning

Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India

2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business

 

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

The drill

Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.

Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”

Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”

Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.” 

The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year
Brief scores:

Juventus 3

Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'

Frosinone 0

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Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Best Foreign Language Film nominees

Capernaum (Lebanon)

Cold War (Poland)

Never Look Away (Germany)

Roma (Mexico)

Shoplifters (Japan)

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