Wild Garden blooms at XVA

Wild Garden, a month-long exhibition curated by Morteza Zahedi, displays the very interesting works of three artists at the XVA Gallery, part of the XVA Art Hotel at the Bastakiya. I had a look around at the vernissage on April 19th.

Salim Karami's drawings stand out for the color combinations and the way the artist fills the paper space with the floral forms. The thickly-packed lines of colored pen on paper result in a texture that resembles embroidery from a distance, and the thin white spaces left between the strokes give the trunks and branches a flowing, growing, organic look.

The bird motif appears frequently in Hasan Hazer Moshar's mixed media sculptural array. The small figurines of humans standing erect, birds (especially owls), and human-bird creatures bring to mind ancient Greek statuary of palladia, Athena iconography, and harpies.

Davood Koochaki's penciled figures stare hypnotically out from the cards, appearing bestially hirsute and muscled thanks to the coarse line fill, like a draft of a Studio Ghibli character.

On till May 22nd

Art exhibition Gentle by Jonathan Gent at XVA

The Jonathan Gent painting exhibition, Gentle, is on display at the XVA Gallery (now contiguous with the XVA Art Hotel) until the end of next month. I dropped by the Bastakiya al Al Fahidi this weekend to have a look (and to watch a film that did not end up screening, but there was some good vegetarian food at the cafe to compensate).

The subject matter is drawn from the artist's experiences as a visitor in the region -- and especially in Dubai -- about 5 years ago. Those of us who live here will recognize much of the imagery depicted in his mental snapshots and  impressions from his exploration of the city. Some of these have been reduced to the barest elements, while some have been fleshed out in further detail and color (while yet retaining a minimal style).

The works have been painted on raw wood veneer, lending them a unique texture. This is especially evident in the more drawing-like ones; the lines on the boards are interrupted and pushed out by the wood grain over which they are painted.

Check it out!

SMCCU Heritage Tour and Emirati Brunch

I had long been postponing my planned tour and meal with the Sheikh Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding because I thought there was only a weekday option (blame the outdated brochure). When I recently checked the website, however, I found a very convenient Saturday morning 09:00 tour, followed immediately by a 10:30 brunch option. And there was even an online booking option, with cash payable on arrival. Perfect!

I and my friends arrived at the SMCCU majlis just in time for the guide's introduction and Q&A session, during which dates and coffee were served. We spent quite a while talking about the coffee and the local etiquette of serving and drinking it, then moving on to other topics of family and tradition, along with lighter topics like the different dialects/patterns of Arabic spoken in different emirates.

Our walking tour took us through the alleyways of the Bastakiya, where our guide explained the construction materials and design intention of the buildings, the doors and the windows, as well as the trees and walls.

She took us into the coin museum as well. Actually, I had been to Bastakiya umpteen times, and the coin museum on several occasions. Still, the rest of the tour was very informative.

We rested on the terrace for a bit before heading to the mosque next door. In the mosque, she explained Islamic beliefs and traditions, including prayer and sartorial customs, and invited questions (which I was, again, happy to oblige).

Those of us who signed up from brunch went back to the majlis and joined the others who had come for just the brunch.

Top middle: Machbous

Bottom right: Lugeymat
Bottom left: Balaleet

Our guide described the spread before us, and another introduction/Q&A session began. Some of the topics had already been covered earlier, at the beginning of the tour. But with added probing, we got to talk about topics in Emirati society such as marriage (age, cost, matchmaking, etc), subcultures (anime, metal, hipster, etc), taboos (homosexuality, alcohol, Westernization, etc) and such.

I highly recommend this combination. It's a great use of a Saturday morning, with hearty food and a chance to delve into the deep recesses of our host nationality's world.

Art Dubai 2011

Apart from the grand exhibit at Madinat Jumeirah, Art Dubai also sees many of Dubai's standing galleries get in the spirit with special exhibits. Taking the Art in the City's "ArtBus" this year (on both routes), I was able to see much more of the latter than I did last year. And of course, I could not miss the Bastakiya fringe art special (re-branded this year as the Sikka Art Fair). Select scenes and moments follow ...

My Art Dubai "artist tour guide" in his "cantordust" alter ego (note the cardboard box "costume"(note also the facepalm)). Last year, it was the Scifi Wahhabi - I seem to always get the cryptic ones. Not that I'm complaining.

Arabic calligraphy in red soap

Metal cast bike and rider

The proposed Abu Dhabi mastaba ... I remember this from IIT

Charcoal drawing, I think, but great effect with the lines

Acrylic stool thingy

I like the style in this one

Zero gravity termite mound

Happy happy, joy joy (the artist, Yue Minjun, is well-known)

Sharp pop art lines at Opera Gallery, DIFC

Restroom symbols at Pavilion, Downtown Dubai

There's a whole room full of these

Banana Surfer (we're out of silver)

I'm a Piscean, by the way

Alleyway sign on the way to the Sikka Art Fair

Panel discusses social media art promotion

Bronze fish mobiles at Bastakiya

Excellent choice of subject

Thermostat cosy

XVA's iconic doll

Nabil Amarshi's People Playing Music performs in the Bastakiya square

Camel Burger

Spent the afternoon in Al Bastakiya and lunched on a burger of camel meat at Local House. It is actually pretty good ... quite dark and dense. Just ask them to go easy on the sauces if you plan to get one yourself. They also have camel biryani and camel ribs, by the way.

 

Bastakiya Art Fair 2010

Why have another art fest while Art Dubai is on? I guess they had to take advantage of the dying gasps of Dubai's "winter".

Despite a packed weekend, I managed to squeeze in a book reading. Yes, you read that right. "A Case of Exploding Mangoes". That's my copy, autographed by Mohammed Hanif. The few chapters I did read thus far were rather engrossing, I have to say.

A theatrical monologue followed, derived from the book and performed most superbly by Nimra Bucha. Although the book seems to be set in Pakistan's days of military rule under Zia, the play gave me an impression of the Musharraf era.

Yes, I had to return the next morning, for the galleries awaited in-depth browsing. Before the browsing began though, I did brunch at the art cafe XVA (founders and organizers of the BAF) so I could catch the brunch talk among curator Rose Issa, curator Nour Wali, and art paper editor Anna Somers Cocks. It was a very interesting talk, especially the bits about freedom of art criticism in the region, the analogy of Dubai as Hong Kong to the Middle East as Red China, and the dichotomy of the functional vs the artistic.

Normally a place for tourists to brush past the old buildings, grab a camel burger or Arabic coffee, and pace about the small art shops and museum, select buildings in the Bastakiya were, from 15th to 21st March, transformed into one grand fringe art gallery district.

These alleys, houses, apartments and courtyards were once part of the living town that was old Dubai, and every little nook in the parts of this heritage site that had been opened to the art festival was used for display.

A number of independent artists's works were on show, as well as works in several prominent collections from Pakistan to Lebanon.

With sense-rattling canvas art mounted on what were once family living room walls, giant prop pieces set up in old yards, and beaten iron sculptures hanging from what were once children's balconies, the constrast between fringe art and heritage site was stark - and captivating. I do hope they have this again next year.

Breathing life into Bastakiya (SSaQ Blog)

http://blogs.zawya.com/sultan/100307071058/

Nowhere else in the Gulf is there such a diversity of architecture inspired by Arab Hijazi masharbiyas, Levantine decorations, North African courtyards and interior Arabian Peninsula windows as well as Islamic calligraphy, Persian Barjeels, and East African a