The Emirates Palace is hosting the work of three artists during the month of April. All three artists’ work was featured at the Abu Dhabi Art Festival.
One of those artists is Sawsan Al Bahar, whose Leaves of Time will be on display from now until April 2. The artist nearly won the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award, and it’s easy to see why. The piece is an installation that symbolizes the suspended state experienced by Palestinian refugees as they flee their homes for a foreign land, often never feeling as if they belong but yet unable to return to their homes, according to The National. It is made up of sculpted pieces that hang in midair.
Photo Credit: Sawsan Al Bahar
Each piece bears an important date since the 1948 Day of Catastrophe. Al Bahar said she got her inspiration from old Arabic calendars. All of the components look like sheets of paper blowing around and are meant to be images of moments in Palestinian history that will always be frozen in time.
Noor Al Suwaidi took the opposite tactic, choosing instead to purposely focus on the beautiful things in life rather than the chaos, tragedy and political turmoil that have gripped the Middle East for years. Her exhibition Ode to the Bouquets is a departure from her usual work, which usually focuses on forms and figures.
Noor Al Suwaidi shared this image via her Instagram account:
Photo Credit: Noor Al Suwaidi; via her Instagram account.
Her inspiration was an exhibition of 19th century floral pieces she viewed at the Dallas Museum of Art. She got to thinking of the pastels and bright colors of her childhood and of nature and wants to encourage people to take time to stop and see the beauty around them or “smell the roses,” so to speak. Two pieces from Al Suwaidi’s exhibition will be on display at the Emirates Palace through April 20.
The third artist whose work is on display at the Emirates Palace is Fatma Lootah, whose work calls attention to the ever-widening gap between generations. One digital painting shows a grandfather, and on both sides are paintings that depict young boys.
Between them is a sand-filled frame that’s meant to signify the gap between the oldest and youngest generations. The sand is also meant to remind Emiratis of the true wealth that lies in their desert, which was where their wealth came from before the oil boom. She wants to urge Emiratis to remain connected to the desert and nature.
The collection of pieces is called Perfume of the Earth and is meant to call the attention of the younger generation to the importance of the older generation and all the knowledge it has to offer, as well as the foundation it has provided for today’s younger generation.
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.
For more information visit: www.abudhabifestival.ae
