ARTISTS OF THE EMIRATES From Conceptual to digital art and paintings to installations, Emirati artists explore and document their culture and identity vis-à-vis the world through their practices. Canvas surveys various generations of artists of the Emirates. pg140 pg138 pg162 pg152 pg172 artists of the emirates 138 A PORTAL TO THE EMIRATI ART SCENE By Reem Fadda The Contemporary art scene in the UAE can be traced back more than 40 years to the formation of the nation state in 1971, after con- solidated state initiatives and records helped establish and track the development of the art and cultural scene. Contemporary prac- titioners have flourished under the influence of pioneering artists such as Hassan Sharif, Abdul Qader Al-Rais, Abdul Rahim Salim and Najat Makki. They, in turn, had been educated and cross-pollinated with myriad regional and international influences and references. Al-Rais was schooled in the visual arts during his years in Kuwait and was tutored by the likes of the Palestinian artist Ismail Sham- mout, whose social realist style has clearly influenced him. Makki was the first woman to receive a state scholarship in 1977 to study practicing arts. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the College of Fine Arts in Cairo and went on to obtain her PhD in Philosophy of Art in 2001. After years as a political cartoonist, Sharif studied Contem- porary arts focusing on performance at the Byam Shaw School of Arts in London in 1980. These artists returned to the UAE and helped establish local mentorship programmes, where they provided alternative schooling in the arts at a time when there was a lack of formal art education within the country. Sharif, alongside Al-Rais and others, established the Emirates Fine Arts Society in Sharjah in 1980, where they taught and provided guidance to artists for nearly two decades. It is important to shed light here on the important leading role taken by the emirate of Sharjah in nurturing and promot- ing culture and arts. Through consolidated institutionalising efforts, the city became a haven in the support of artists throughout the years. The now established Sharjah Art Foun- dation, with its prestigious biennial has been deservedly lauded for all its efforts in creating a critical public arena for the production of arts and culture, engaging both regional and international artists across the years. Addi- tionally, writers and critics had an important and multidisciplinary role to play in all of this, having been engaged with artists in salons of discussions and having written vigorously on their work throughout the years. A number of these writers include Adel Khozam, Ahmed Rashid Thani and the Palestinian artist and critic Dr Abdul Karim Al-Sayed. Two clear directions emerged in the Contemporary art scene; one spearheaded by Sharif, which valued criticality and ex- perimentation and took a more conceptual bend through performance and multimedia. The other was more formal, depictive and focused on the plane of painting as a realm for exploration. However different these two approaches were, advocates of both groups Left: Emirati artists Abdul Rahim Salim (left) and Abdul Qader Al-Rais (right) with HH Sheikh Dr Sultan Al-Qasimi at the Annual Exhibition at the Emirates Fine Arts Society in Sharjah in 1991. Right: HH Sheikh Dr Sultan Al-Qasimi flanked by Emirati artists Hassan Sharif (right) and Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim (left) during the opening of the Annual Exhibition at the Emir- ates Fine Arts Society in Sharjah in 2005 with a work by Sharif in the foreground. Images courtesy Emirates Fine Arts Society. artists of the emirates 139 were constantly debating recurrent themes, mainly questioning the role of tradition and modernity in the developing visual and mate- rial landscape of their country. Through their efforts, a second generation of artists was cul- tivated, among them Mohammed Al-Qassab, Hussain Sharif, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Mohammed Al-Mazrouei, Abdullah Al-Saadi, Jalal Luqman, Mattar Bin Lahej, Mohammed Kazem, Ebtisam Abdulaziz and Layla Juma. These, and other artists, are building upon the legacy of their predecessors to advance the visual arts. Al-Rais and Makki developed a more contemplative abstract style of painting, sometimes calligraphic or geometric. The influence is clearly visible in the works of the natural abstract paintings of Al-Qassab, the calligraphic sculptures of Bin Lahej and the Surrealist graphic paint- ings of Luqman. Hassan Sharif’s influence is felt in the work of the second generation of Conceptual artists, including the formative body experiments of Kazem, the Land Art projects of Ibrahim and Al-Saadi, the sub- jective performances of Abdulaziz, Juma’s deconstructive drawings of architecture and nature and the intellectual and highly political paintings of Al-Mazrouei. A part of this collective of artists came to be known as the ‘Five’ and later formed the workshop/ gallery space, The Flying House, through the efforts of Abdul Raheem Sharif and Dutch curator Jos Clevers. They also participated in training many younger artists at the Emirates Fine Arts Society, such as Nasir Nasrallah, who still holds a studio in Bait Al-Shamsi in Sharjah and practices art in a unique style of socially engaged graphic art. All this has paved the way for younger art- ists such as Zeinab Al-Hashemi, Alia Lootah and others to practice a complex and criti- cal form of art in multiple media. Additionally, two artists who have lived in the UAE for many years and continue to influence its art scene are Palestinian- born Tarek Al-Ghoussein and Bahraini Mohammed Kanoo. Al-Ghoussein taught photography and visual arts for nearly two decades at the American University of Sharjah and currently at New York University Abu Dhabi, and has noticeably influenced a new generation of younger artists practicing the medium, such as Lamya Gargash, Lateefa Bint Maktoum and Afra Bin Dhaher. All of these generations of artists and their continuous and combined efforts have suc- ceeded to promulgate a diverse and unique contemporary practice in the visual arts within the UAE and its local history and en- vironment, but equally relevant in a broader international context deserved of recognition and acknowledgement. THE CONCEPTUALS artists of the emirates She dismisses the notion that “one must hold a degree to be an art- ist,” demonstrating through her artistic career that “an artist is born.” Fascinated by numbers, internationally acclaimed Ebtisam Ab- dulaziz studied Mathematics at the University of Al Ain, but always had a natural inclination towards her creative side, which was encouraged by her father. She claims that her work in mathematics has allowed her to have a unique viewpoint in art, noting that her studies helped “simplify and create an abstract body of work, which appears plain and obvious, but when examined proves to be complex in nature.” One of her most well-known shows, the 2012 Autobiogra- phy, exhibited at The Third Line in Dubai, attests to this claim: multiple works in diverse media focused on geometric abstract pieces in lay- ered imagery. These created grids, boxes and other strongly abstract yet defined contours for an audience to contemplate. However, a look at the artist’s oeuvre presents a complete defi- ance of categorisation; in addition to works on paper, Abdulaziz has also worked in media as diverse as performance and installations. She resists being “limited to one medium” and classifies herself as a Conceptual artist where the “concept remains a very important ele- ment in my work and the medium or the art material comes after.” Born in 1975, Abdulaziz has had a distinguished career with multiple national and international shows in places as diverse as Germany, Japan and of course the Middle East, where she shows through The Third Line and has been commissioned by the Sharjah Biennial. Viewers are struck by the fact that Abdulaziz’s work is highly socially aware. Indeed, she demonstrates a strong belief that the “artist’s role is to educate the world through their work.” Conscious of her identity in a globalised world, Abdulaziz’s artistic concerns stem from “the fact that a woman is a human being and even then, it is like we are squeezed into a circle within society.” She passionately argues that the “role of an artist is to be a social commentator and that the artist cannot be detached from the events that surround him or her.” She concedes to be proudest of her 2013 piece The Blue Freedom, shown at Emirati Expressions: Realised during the last edition of Abu Dhabi Art, which, she says “was a dream come true; one that I have been dreaming about since 2010.” For it, she painted the inside of a plastic bubble in Yves Klein blue and altogether, the act allowed her “to perform so freely, to create freedom. I also wanted to see the whole world from a different perspective from inside (the) bubble of freedom.” Abdulaziz acknowledges the recognition that she has received and is encouraged to “give more,” but international acclaim, she feels, is “a lot of pressure, as I become more obsessed with perfection.” For now, she says she is lucky to have “two brains: the creative and the mathemati- cal, working together fulfilling my art.” EBTISAM ABDULAZIZ EBTISAM ABDULAZIZ 142 artists of the emirates 143 He began a career in art at a young age nearly four decades ago. A native of the secluded town of Khor Fakkan in Sharjah, Moham- med Ahmed Ibrahim found inspiration in the idyllic landscape of the rocky Hajar Mountains and where they meet the Gulf of Oman. Combining his degree in Psychology from Al Ain University, UAE and his time as an artist-in-residence at Le Consortium Art Centre in Dijon, France, Ibrahim chose to translate the psychology of civilisation into a compelling visual language. At a time when the UAE stood at the dawn of a socio-economic surge, he retreated from impending urbanisation towards primitive and instinctively familiar compositions. Friends who studied abroad would send him art books and from 1980–86, he read voraciously before returning to painting and taking up classes with the late Yassir Dweik. “I eventually found myself in land art. I started using clay, for which Khor Fakkan is famous, and then leaves and branches,” says Ibrahim. “The objects weren’t pretty. Being beautiful is different from being pretty.” His creations embody primordial forms that are intuitive yet elusive. In a body of work entitled Forms, Ibrahim employs ink and marker on white paper to create repetitive permutations of basic geometric structures such as lines, squares, circles and triangles. The interconnected figures organically build and grow upon each other, creating complex compositions that are reminiscent of ancient Aztec drawings or Sumerian cuneiform writing. “There is a non-deliberate approach to my work, without intricate planning, or pre-sketching the Forms... so that each execution remains as instinctive as the configurations themselves,” he explains. Ibrahim’s sculptures share a strong thematic and technical synergy with his flat works. He reaffirms a focus to “point out what already exists” in creating three-dimensional versions of primi- tive forms. In order to complement the rudimentary structures, he “shapes them out of strategically collected organic materials such as clay and wood and assembles leaves as they fall from particular trees at specific times each year.” Ibrahim gathers clay from the same pit in his backyard season after season. This clay, born in the same soil and weathered by the same sun, forms the base for all of his hand-moulded sculptures. Primordial, exhibited at Cuadro Fine Art Gallery, Dubai in 2014, is one such sculpture composed of a series of clay vessels. The artist replicates the form over and over again until the finished sculpture consists of a family of vessels. Continuing the concept in Primordial Forms I, Ibrahim encloses a MOHAMMED AHMED IBRAHIM MOHAMMED AHMED IBRAHIM Clockwise from bottom left: Ebtisam Abdulaziz. Autobi- ography (Found Objects). 2012. Mixed media. 40 x 25 cm. Image courtesy the artist and The Third Line, Dubai; Installation view of Ebtisam Abdulaziz’s Blue Freedom (2013) at Manarat Al-Saadiyat during Emirati Expressions: Realised. Image courtesy TCA Abu Dhabi; Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim. Tower. 2010. Paper and glue. 185 x 75 x 48 cm. Image courtesy Cuadro Fine Art Gallery, Dubai. artists of the emirates 144 wet clay segment in his palm; imprinting it with the shape of his fingers. Common structures such as vessels, cones and hand- moulded forms recur throughout human history in script, appliances and even architecture. Ibrahim also worked with a medium that is both primeval and intrinsically sculptural – rock. “For many years I watched the sun set and disappear behind a mountain near my home each night,” he says. In a photographic work displayed at Emirati Expres- sions: Realised in 2013, Ibrahim placed a hole in that mountain, simply to delay the sunset. As a way to concretise that cavity, he spent years collecting four to five tonnes of mountain rock. Since the mountains in Khor Fakkan contain natural copper deposits, Ibrahim tied the rocks up with copper wire, adorning them in the very material that they contain. He then returned the rocks to the mountains, where they eroded for a season until he retrieved them. The rocks, representing the most primordial of natural elements, are taken from a parent source, split from the same mountainous body – much like clay gathered from the same pit. In the knots of copper wire, Ibrahim reinstates innate geometric forms such as lines and circles prevalent in his works. I don’t interfere with nature,” says Ibrahim. “I’ve never broken a branch to use in my work.” The molecular forms represent the building blocks of nature itself and like nature, they are replicated and reformulated but remain an integral component of all development and progress. Clockwise from top left: Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim. Mineral Water. 2012. Paper, glue and plastic bottles. 56 x 46 x 104 cm. Image courtesy the artist; Layla Juma. Beauty And The Beast. 2006. Gum. 1.5 x 0.75 cm. Image courtesy the artist; Layla Juma. Red Circle. 2004. Mixed media on wood block. 23 x 23 cm each. Image courtesy the artist. artists of the emirates 145 “My art is not traditional at all,” says Layla Juma . Indeed, the young Sharjah native has long worked outside the confines of tradition to become part of a generation of leading Contemporary Emirati artists. “I grew up by the sea and I am proud of my coun- try’s heritage, but our art cannot be limited to depictions of camels, the desert or the sea,” she says. Nevertheless, Juma’s practice is focused on nature, albeit on the dichotomies found throughout. The geometric approach to nature she employs is true to her education- al background; she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Architec- tural Engineering from the UAE University in Al Ain in 2001. Though she started off with a focus on painting, Juma found herself drawn to sculpture. She first exhibited her works at the Emirates Fine Arts Society (of which she is a member) in 2003 and has taken part in the annual summer show ever since. In 2006, she produced Beauty And The Beast, tiny sculptures made of chewing gum, which were photographed and rendered into a series of 13 chromogenic prints. The miniature sculptures, enclosed in glass cases, were presented at the 2008 Singapore Biennale. Though she is not a full-time artist, Juma continuously fuels her pas- sion and has presented her works at the UAE Cultural Week exhibition in Azerbaijan in 2006, the 10th Cairo International Biennial and in shows both in the UAE and abroad, including at Dubai’s Total Arts Gallery in 2007, Lucerne’s AB Gallery in 2010 and the Dubai Community Theatre & Arts Centre (DUCTAC) in 2012. Juma often works with computer-rendered designs, in which she combines elements and shapes. From 2008–10, she produced Worms, a public art piece commissioned by the Towada Art Centre in Japan, which was destroyed during the devastating tsunami that struck the country in March 2011. Her Twins Group designs, which she produced in 2007, became a three-dimensional reality in 2013, when Juma took part in Emirati Expressions: Realised, an exhibition of works by Emirati artists curated by the Guggenheim’s Reem Fadda and Sheikha Maisa Al-Qassimi of the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. The two aluminium sculptures are mammoth renderings of Juma’s vision to make geometry relevant to contemporary times. Greatly influenced by the practice of Mohammed Kazem, whom she met through the Emirates Fine Arts Society, Juma continuously seeks ways to express her fascination with nature through her works of art. In 2010, she produced two metal sculptures that captured the motion of water, The Wave and The Water Splash. “I always seek to com- municate my thoughts in different ways,” she says. “I may appear cold to some people, but the truth is that everything affects me. A lot of my work is the result of some kind of emotional effect and is a message. I express all of my energy through my work.” LAYLA JUMA LAYLA JUMA artists of the emirates 146 To a local audience, Hassan Sharif ’s works might not necessar- ily appear representative of the region. However, they stem from a practice that the artist developed in a society on the cusp of rapid transformation following the discovery of oil. This was also a time when audiences called to burn his work, but Sharif persevered because he felt “art was not with me. It was somewhere I had to reach and I am still searching for it.” Considered the founding father of Conceptual Emirati art, Sharif’s oeuvre is deeply rooted in investigating the transformation of an object. “Despite the fact that my works are based on a sequential, industrial mode of creativity, they also demolish the sequential autonomy of an industrial prod- uct. I inject my works with a realism that exposes the socio-political economic monster, allowing people a chance to recognise the danger of over-indulgence in this form of negative consumption,” notes the artist in his monograph. In the late 1970s, Sharif began exploring different styles in paint- ing and then stumbled upon catalogues of Modern masters such as van Gogh, Cézanne and Picasso, among others, whose paintings he would reproduce. “I really wanted someone to come and explain to me what Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art was,” he says. Since secondary school, it was clear to Sharif that he had to pursue a degree in art and he subsequently enrolled at the Byam Shaw School of Art in London. This afforded him the opportunity to access the mu- seums and galleries in Europe that show the works of the masters he had been following over the years. Sharif returned to the UAE in 1984 and naturally progressed towards conceptual practices. He employs various media such as installations, paintings, drawings and performances. In the 1970s, Sharif contributed a significant num- ber of satirical drawings, caricatures and articles in local magazines and newspapers, such as Akhbar Dubai. Although he exhibited exten- sively internationally, it wasn’t until 2011 that he presented a retrospec- tive in Abu Dhabi and his practice became familiar to the local audi- ence. Sharif also participated in the first edition of the Sharjah Biennial in 1993, Emirates Arts at the Sittard Art Centre in The Netherlands in HASSAN SHARIF HASSAN SHARIF Left and right: Hassan Sharif. Newspaper. 2011. Mixed media. Variable dimensions; Abstract. 1980. Ink on paper. 76.5 x 56.5 cm. Images courtesy The Flying House, Dubai. 1995, Languages Of The Desert at the Kunstmuseum in Germany in 2005 and in 2012, held his first solo exhibition in the USA at Alexander Gray Associates. In 2009, Sharif was among the artists who represented the UAE at the 53rd Venice Biennale, along with Ebtisam Abdulaziz and Lamya Gargash, and others. Apart from works created from materials such as rope, paper, flip flops, jugs and clothes-pegs, another key element in Sharif’s body of work consists of geometric works, which are based on digits, lines, let- ters and colours. In these, which he developed in the 1980s, the chances of error in execution highlight boredom and fatigue in banal activities. In his monograph, the artist says, “I resorted to the idea of ‘redundant rep- etition’ in producing art. I would continuously engage myself in boring, recurring and endless activities, a feature that would become a signa- ture of my artwork.” Sharif is one of the founders of the Emirates Fine Arts Society in Sharjah and in 2007, he helped set up The Flying House with his brother Abdulraheem in a bid to promote the work of Contempo- rary Emirati artists. Today, it is used to preserve and document his own work and is managed by Abdulraheem. artists of the emirates 147 artists of the emirates 148 “I think the important thing is that the artwork itself contains something that makes it unique and real,” reflects Hussain Sharif, who first exhib- ited his work, Positive/Negative , in 1983, alongside his brother Hassan at the Al-Ahli Club in Dubai. The piece features a set of self-portraits, with the first a rendering of a reflection of himself and as one traverses through the sequence of paper works, they lose some elements of the image until it has faded and only a few lines remain. Acting as both artist and critic, Sharif embedded himself within the growing art scene of the UAE, designing and publishing his own art journal, the first publication of its type in the Gulf. A founding member of the Emirates Fine Arts Soci- ety in Sharjah, he credits this institution with providing a much-needed platform for artists living and working in the UAE. “Most of the leading artists today are those who have been trained [at the Society] and had an atelier in it,” Sharif explains. “The association played a major role in establishing our artists within contemporary society.” He chose to study at the High Institute of Kuwait, expanding his visual horizons, graduating in 1986 with a degree in Theatre Design and returned to the UAE to work as Head Designer at Sharjah TV, utilising his set design and artistic skills in a more commercial role. Sharif was also a published caricature artist, with his works appearing in newspa- pers such as the Arab Times as well as other regional news platforms. He continued his art practice whilst working, focusing on collage, and in 1993, participated in the inaugural edition of the Sharjah Biennial, showcasing experimental work involving light and projection and went on to present at subsequent editions of the biennial. He was also among the artists selected to be part of the 5 UAE: Contemporary Art Of The Five From The United Arab Emirates exhibition in Aachen, Germany in 2002, alongside his brother Hassan and artists Mohammed Kazem, Abdullah Al-Saadi and Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim. Sharif has been inspired to use different media in his practice, from traditional materials such as paper, to found objects, which he reappropriates. In his 2008 installation, Cars , he produced objects from recyclable items, such as empty food cans, cups and plastic bottles, stating that, “For me, it is important that the material is available; in every store I can think of, I can see something that can be used as ma- terial.” Drawing inspiration from his surroundings, Sharif is motivated to create art that is self-referential and concerned with its medium, rather than considering a particular concept or focus and being defined by that concept. “In my work, I do not deal with any subject. I do not care about the subject of the work. I care more how it is done,” he says. Sharif prefers a more organic approach, with the focus on the viewer’s role in exploring and engaging with the work, rather than a set discourse on the work’s narrative. “I started drawing and painting,”he muses, “before I knew that what I was doing was called art.” HUSSAIN SHARIF HUSSAIN SHARIF artists of the emirates 149 Many have noted Mohammed Kazem ’s calm demeanour and eloquence – attributes which can be felt in many aspects of his Conceptual work. The majority of his series are ongoing, some dating back to when he began his artistic practice in the 1980s. Kazem’s solo exhibition in the UAE National Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale saw a project that he had conceived in 1999, produced in a small maquette in 2005 and finally realised in 2013. A monumental work, Walking On Water fully encapsulated viewers, transporting them from a brightly lit Pavilion entryway into a dark room. Viewers were compelled to surrender to the experience, the sight of waves rolling as they realise they are surrounded by water, the sound of waves crashing, the feeling of a rocking boat. The only source of informa- tion is the constantly moving GPS coordinates as numbers flicker into one’s vision. A project of this magnitude showcases Kazem’s artistic vision at its peak. “It’s a different technique and process of making art,” he explains. “It’s a mental process.” Beginning his career by studying at the Emirates Fine Arts Soci- ety, Kazem learned from fellow Emirati artist Hassan Sharif, now a long-time friend. He began his practice by utilising a more traditional artistic tool – paint on canvas – and exhibiting his work throughout the UAE. During his day job working in an administrative capacity for the UAE army, Kazem began to experiment with more conceptual processes. He paid close attention to his movements whilst at work, which were often repetitive. “I was moving my body in a certain way, so I made a box, photographing my head moving in four directions,” he explains. Kazem continues to experiment within his art making, investigat- ing different materials, ideas and themes within his work. Though he has a studio, he often makes work outside of it, participating in numerous residencies from India to the USA. “Generally, I deal with Clockwise from bottom left: Hussain Sharif. Faces. 1998. Metal cans. Variable dimensions. Image courtesy The Flying House, Dubai; Hussain Sharif. Cars. 2009. Mixed media. Variable dimensions; Mohammed Kazem. (Detail) Tongue. 1994. One from a series of 45 gelatin silver prints mounted on five corrugated boards. 43 x 43 cm each. Image courtesy Cristiana de Marchi. MOHAMMED KAZEM MOHAMMED KAZEM artists of the emirates 150 the environment and I use it to raise several issues. The environ- ment itself is an issue, so too are also political and social matters,” he says, describing his work as dual-themed with both subjective and objective aspects. In Kazem’s Scratch works, which he has been creating since 1990, he plays with ideas of light, sound and movement, scratching into the paper to reveal an overall aesthetic composition, as well as recording elements of the sound that the action itself makes. Environment becomes an integral issue once again, as the movement of changing natural light alters the work constantly. Kazem’s ability as a trained musician has also greatly influenced his practice, from the Scratch pieces themselves to his more performance and video-based works. As Kazem studied under Sharif, so too, in turn, many students have learnt from Kazem. His interest in helping to develop young talent in the UAE emerged when he realised that there was a lack of Emirati artists. His early involvement in the Sharjah Biennial and exhibitions both within the UAE and abroad saw his encouragement of the new wave of Emirati artists. Furthermore, the need for their work to be critiqued led him to work on several curatorial projects, purely out of need rather than a desire to curate, which has in turn, led him to or- ganise several important exhibitions, such as MinD (Made In Dubai), held annually in Dubai since 2010–12. artists of the emirates 151 This artist cuts an enigmatic figure: born in Khor Fakkan, on the Eastern coast of the UAE in 1967, Abdullah Al-Saadi is inspired by the flora, fauna and traditions of his hometown, which imbue his oeuvre with a fascination for nature. This is evident throughout his works as he continuously nurtures this bond on home turf as well as during his travels. He documents the latter through paintings, draw- ings, jewellery and sculptures, among other media. One of the UAE Five, the group of Emirati artists that includes Hassan and Hussain Sharif, Mohammed Kazem and Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Al-Saadi graduated from the UAE University of Al Ain in 1993 with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature. He went on to study Japanese painting at the Kyoto Seika University in Japan from 1994–96, where a focus on attentiveness to detail prevailed and where he was exposed to the Japanese alphabet. This introduction and cultural experience was directly referenced in Al-Saadi’s Letters From My Mother (1998–2000), a series that was inspired by the letters that his mother – an illiterate woman – would leave him when she visited his studio and did not find him there. Her messages were rendered in symbols fashioned from stone, metal or twigs. The artist documented the ‘letters’ in a book of the same name and in 2002 and presented the works at 5/UAE: Contemporary Art of the Five from the United Arab Emirates at the Ludwig Forum for International Art in Aachen, Germany. Al-Saadi went on to take part in three editions of the Sharjah Bien- nial (2003, 2007 and 2011), the São Paulo Biennale in 2004 and the exhi- bition Languages Of The Desert at the Kunstmuseum in Bonn, Germany in 2005. In 2009, he took part in the Venice Biennale through the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage Platform curated by Catherine David and presented a drawing, Khor Fakkan, in the group exhibition. In 2011, Al-Saadi represented his country at the Venice Biennale through the UAE National Pavilion, curated by Vasif Kortun and where the artist presented his longstanding project, Naked Sweet Potato (2000–10), which explores the relationship between nature, food and society through a food indigenous to the UAE. The multi-element series is a testament to Al-Saadi’s analytical and systematic exploration of nature and it culminated in Emirati Expressions: Realised in 2013, an exhibition held at Manarat Al- Saadiyat. Al-Saadi finally realised his wish to turn the series into gold jewellery, showcasing 18-carat gold pieces that celebrate the sweet potato and its various forms that simultaneously celebrate the human body and the traditions of the UAE. In March 2014, the Sharjah Art Foundation hosted Abdullah Al-Saadi: Al-Toubay, an exhibition focused on the importance of nature, travel and companionship in his life. Though the artist finds his inspiration in the journeys he embarks on, he has always kept his Emirati roots close; he continues to live in the seaside town where he was born. ABDULLAH AL-SAADI ABDULLAH AL-SAADI Clockwise from top left: Mohammed Kazem. Soundless No 6. 2010. Pastel on paper, 100 x 65 cm. Image courtesy Cristiana de Marchi; Details from Abdullah Al-Saadi’s Naked Sweet Potato. (2000–10). Images courtesy TCA Abu Dhabi. THE PAINTERS artists of the emirates 154 JALAL LUQMAN JALAL LUQMAN Like his art, Jalal Luqman ’s personality is larger than life. “[My] work is about truth; and if you don’t want to see the truth, don’t look at it,” says the artist about his oeuvre, which has been written about and remarked upon for the past 20 years and is often described as dark, aggressive and violent (a view completely contrasted with his personality). Looking at his vast practice, taboo subjects and truths are clearly apparent – from his recent work Allah Is Not To Blame (2013) to earlier works Apologies To My Father, his visual language is powerful and strong. Luqman did not receive formal art training, which has provided him with the freedom to be unrestricted in his practice. He utilises a wide range of materials, including metal, wood, paper, paint, canvas, plastic and found objects. His love of experimentation, DIY and power tools has created a powerful combination that forces him to experiment. Indeed, there is no material or subject matter that Luqman is deterred by. His all-consuming and fervent practice allows him to focus on themes of love, greed, hate and happiness – subjects that he has revisited time and time again. The sheer variety of his work is staggering – life-size figura- tive sculptures welded from galvanised steel such as The Invisible Giant (2009); more Conceptual mixed media works like 7 Hours and surrealist paintings such as Thanks For The Rain. Though his body of work is vast and varied in media, painting dominates his oeuvre Luqman pushed against society’s expectations of Arab artists making aesthetically beautiful work and instead chose to“give the subject what it truly deserves” and create “meaningful, not beautiful, art”. Tackling subjects considered taboo is often met with resistance and distress, but he is adamant that art should be used to open discussion and encourage debate, finding himself working with important concepts, whether they be harrowing or happy. A man of great charisma and energy, this force can be seen in the imagery, colour and passion of his work. His first exhibition in 1996 at the Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi was a surprise, even to Luqman. In order to take part in this exhibition and another in New York, Luqman impulsively sold both his car and watch to raise funds. He later found out that it had been a colleague who had put forward some early digital pieces that he was working on for the show and as he says, he has been “punishing the world with his art since then”. And punishing he has been, exhibiting in over 70 shows regionally and internationally since 1996, producing art at a prolific rate. He is also involved in exhibitions, auctions, charity events and art programmes. His newest body of work, Inspirations By Light, was stimulated after an unusual lack of creativity. Luqman found himself looking towards the sky and the light, rather than towards darkness and was struck with the idea of this new series, which includes sculptural works as well as works on canvas in Luqman’s true multimedia-focused style. Left to right: Jalal Luqman. The Hint Of A Smile. 2008. Mixed media. 200 x 109 x 17 cm. Image courtesy the artist; Jalal Luqman. (Detail) The Safest Place. 2012. Mixed media. 122 x 82 cm. Image courtesy the artist; Najat Makki. Composition. 2012. Acrylic on canvas. 185 x 175 cm. Image courtesy the artist. artists of the emirates 155 It was Najat Makki ’s father who encouraged his youngest daughter to specialise in sculpture for her undergraduate degree at Cairo’s College of Fine Arts in 1977. She was among a handful of Emirati artists who were granted scholarships by the Ministry of Education at the time and, though she revelled in the visual wealth and history of Egypt, the sikkas (alleyways) of her hometown Dubai were never far from her mind. “I grew up in an artistic environ- ment, near the abra (dhow) station and the Shindagha area, the fish market and the Sheikh Saeed House,” recalls Makki. “The area lived in our subconscious. It was wonderfully varied – textiles, gold, vegetables, bakers...” In her five years in Cairo, Makki felt that her “ideas changed due to interactions with different people and a new culture,” while she also experimented with clay from Aswan. Upon graduation, she returned to Dubai, where she worked at the Ministry of Education for a decade and continued to sculpt and paint, tak- ing inspiration from her heritage through emblems such as the sea, desert, palm trees and women’s ornamented abayas. “I’d take scraps from aluminium factories and create sculptures and paintings,” recalls Makki. Women became her painting’s primary focus, rendered NAJAT MAKKI NAJAT MAKKI