< Previous120 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture Winter 2020 M. F. Husain. Untitled (Sarod Player). c. 1970 Oil on canvas. 99cmx124cm HBI_048_120-125_Special Feature_AD highlights_Simon_11428049.indd 12030/11/2020 10:04:53 AMCREDIT HERE 121 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture Winter 2020 121 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture Winter 2020 A VIRTUAL Affair A thoughtful retrospection of the unpredictable year we’ve had met an evocative exploration of time, memory and recollection as the 12th edition of Abu Dhabi Art returned online Words by AYESHA S. SHEHMIR HBI_048_120-125_Special Feature_AD highlights_Simon_11428049.indd 12103/12/2020 06:24:16 PM122 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture Winter 2020 fter one of the most challenging years in history for the global art scene, artists and curators in the Middle East have responded with an invigorated show of creativity and innovation, proving no hardship can put a cap on the region’s rapidly evolving cultural landscape. Fuelled by their inherently resilient nature, the participating artists in this year’s Abu Dhabi Art fair were a nod to the region’s perpetual devotion to artistic growth and adaptability. On view from 19 to 26 November 2020, and organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, the 12th edition of Abu Dhabi Art returned as an interactive virtual fair. For the fi rst time, six leading guest curators partnered with global galleries and artists to showcase artworks online rather than the conventional exhibition set-up, with each artwork set within a geographical theme. For each gallery sector at the fair, a renowned curator highlighted the contemporary art scene from a different region. Curated by writer and independent art critic Simon Njami, the sector entitled The Day After was dedicated entirely to art from Africa, exploring notions of time while Contemporary Korean Art, curated by writer Sung woo Kim shed light on contemporary art from South Korea. Spotlighting the Indian subcontinent was the India Today section, curated by gallerist Ashwin Thadani, while A Picture Held Us Captive by Nada Raza of Ishara Art Foundation looked at contemporary artists represented by UAE galleries. Nada, working Above: Ram Han. Case_01_03 (recombined scenery). 2020. Light panel. 100x100cm. Courtesy of the artist; Left: Terrence Musekiwa. Muimbi (Singer). 2020. Carved stone, plastic phone, glass, metal and glue. 18x12x12cm. Courtesy of Catinca Tabacaru Gallery HBI_048_120-125_Special Feature_AD highlights_Simon_11428049.indd 12230/11/2020 10:05:12 AM123 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture Winter 2020 Dalila Dalléas Bouzar. Princesses. 2018. Oil on canvas. 50x40cm Photo © Gregory Copitet HBI_048_120-125_Special Feature_AD highlights_Simon_11428049.indd 12330/11/2020 10:07:52 AMWORDS BY A YESHA S. SHEHMIR, IMAGES COUR TESY OF THE AR TISTS, GALLERIES AND ABU DHABI AR T 124 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture Winter 2020 From top: Ouattara Watts. African Beats. 2018. Mixed media on canvas. 205x214cm; Lee Seulgi. U, Heap of eggs = A Tricky Situation. 2018. Korean silk closely with UAE-based galleries, highlighted a single new work each day of the fair, in an attempt to slow down the way we experience the virtual world and to encourage a more contemplative consumption of our surroundings. “I think the Emirati art scene is innovative, dynamic and interconnected; we all support each other,” comments Dyala Nusseibeh, Director of Abu Dhabi Art. “There is a real sense of community and collaboration which drives the success of any cultural initiative. That makes it easy to promote the amazing creativity you fi nd in the Emirates.” Rose Lejeune of the Delfi na Foundation’s Collecting as Practice programme in London curated the fair’s Performing Arts programme this year, adapting to the new virtual format and delving into what performance art can really fl ourish into amidst these burdensome times. “Globally and across industries we have all faced a unique set of challenges created by the pandemic,” adds Dyala. “For the art sector, one of the most important changes created by the pandemic, was the need to ‘do’ online better, to present culture virtually and for the art market to create the conditions from which art could be sold more easily online.” Noting that online sales were already peaking before the onset of COVID-19, Dyala has observed there was still a lack of virtual gallery exhibition viewing spaces and the acceleration of the same has occurred due to the pandemic, with the response of the art world shown through a spike in virtual innovations. “That said, after a certain point, people have become increasingly aware of how much they miss being in front of artworks in real life and seeing their community in real life,” she notes. “That is why no matter how much we improve our online offering, it will never replace physical exhibitions and events. As an art fair we have adapted to the pandemic by going predominantly virtual this year and with a fantastic online offering - but I can’t wait to hold an event back at Manarat Al Saadiyat again in future.” The fair was also home to Beyond: Emerging Artists, a section curated by Beirut-born Maya El Khalil, who is also the Founding Director of Jeddah’s Athr Gallery. This space showcased a body of new works by three budding artists from across the UAE, namely Hind Mezaina, Afra Al Dhaheri and Afra Al Suwaidi. The featured works considered the distortion of time forced upon us during a year of hiatus, prompting extended periods of isolation and pensive recollection of the past. Inspired by the new-found perspectives we have of memory and time, the artists draw on the experiences of remembrance and how they are all interconnected. There was also a strong focus on South Korea this year, with a number of galleries from the region participating at the fair. Following a promising response from art collectors to previous gallery programmes highlighting South Korea, curator Sung sought to offer viewers a stimulating insight into the contemporary landscape in South Korea today. Entitled Material-real, the exhibition explored the rapid societal, economic and cultural changes in the region and the subtle similarities to the conditions of the UAE. “Interestingly, some parallels can be drawn with the experience of living in the UAE which has undergone rapid transformation in a relatively short period of time,” says Dyala. “Perhaps that is why there is an affi nity for contemporary Korean art here, because it speaks to a shared experience of urban transformation and its legacies.” Also hosted during the fair was an online Talks Programme, spanning an array of cultural talks with leading art fi gures who explored the history of the UAE and the contemporary art scene around the globe. As Dyala suggests, “The fairs that do survive this year will be the strongest and will have adapted and evolved to do so.” Comprising a series of live- stream video interviews with artists, gallerists and curators, Abu Dhabi Art’s 12th edition was live from 19 to 26 November 2020. abudhabiart.ae HBI_048_120-125_Special Feature_AD highlights_Simon_11428049.indd 12430/11/2020 10:08:00 AMTIME HAS GONE out of joint ietzsche wrote about the Eternal Return of the same. Some people misread him, thinking that he was talking about a circular time where everything, in never-ending replay, would be performed again. But in fact, through his words, I perceived the metaphor of a spiral. Things seem to remain the same when, in fact, there is always an alteration in the narrative. History is never a repetition and the same is never the same. In the logic of the world order, ever since humans started to think, the idea of conquest became predominant and the notion that battles were won or lost in cycles across time was installed: new powers would replace fallen empires. Since World War II, the scenario has evolved. Conquest is no longer through wars (I am not pretending that we are living in a post-war time) but through economy. What was perceived during the Cold War as a battle between East and West has since transformed into a West versus Asia war. The only way an empire can avoid the falling is not to be one. Most non-western countries have never experienced the bitter fortune of leading the world and I shall not complain about it. They are trying to rebuild and reinvent their own stories. And in this process, art plays a crucial role (soccer as well, but that is another story). And the refl ection that is at stake is how to create the day after on a daily basis; a day that would respond to the principle of the Eternal Return. Because what is happening today is the only thing we can have some certainty about. Solving today’s problems signifi es building a tomorrow that would be different. It is a process, like in alchemy, of death and rebirth. Death meaning to stop focusing on yesterday and rebirth, to live today as if it were tomorrow. This is the task that artists in Africa and in different parts of the world have taken on-board. If there were any logic in the evolution of things, Latin America or Africa should be, after the Chinese moment, the place where the next empire will be located. But who can really predict tomorrow? Let us go in together And still your fi ngers on your lips, I pray. The time is out of joint - O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right! Nay, come, let's go together. Maybe time has come, not to go together, but to try to get together. As Shakespeare suggested in Hamlet: time is defi nitively out of joint! Paris-based independent curator, lecturer, art critic and novelist Simon Njami explores the notion of time, African artists and the ‘Eternal Return’ Portrait of Simon Njami. Photo by David Damoison 125 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture Winter 2020 HBI_048_120-125_Special Feature_AD highlights_Simon_11428049.indd 12530/11/2020 10:08:19 AM126 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture Winter 2020 IMPERFECTIONS Perfect HBI_048_126_127_Special Feature_Richard_11450225.indd 12629/11/2020 08:41:28 PMWORDS BY MALOBI OLELE. IMAGES COUR TESY OF THE AR TIST AND AFRIAR T GALLER Y 127 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture Winter 2020 Budding artist Richard Atugonza celebrates body fl aws with sculptures made using waste materials, as a nod to humanity’s resilience and beautiful rarities ganda-born sculptor Richard Atugonza depicts people in his life through sculptures made from discarded materials found in his immediate surroundings such as plastic bottles, charcoal residues and lake sand. The artist initially began sourcing waste material from his university, neighbours and recycling depots as he needed inexpensive material to create work as a student. To a certain extent, one might say the art is an extension of a recycling line. A keen observer of life and the beauty in his surroundings, while in high school, he took a special interest in art. In 2019, he graduated from Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Art in Makerere University, Kampala, with a major in portrait sculpting and minors in photography and communication design. His work has been exhibited at 1-54 Art Fair London 2020, Surfaces Afriart Gallery Kampala 2019 and Walls Speak, Kingdom Kampala in 2019, and he recently completed an art residency with Silhouette projects in Kampala. The artist’s ongoing series entitled Imperfection Perfections celebrates insecurities and body fl aws. Through the featured work, his goal is to inspire people to embrace the fl aws which differentiate them from others and to ultimately accept their imperfections. The latest piece, Imperfection Perfections 8, notes inspiration from his desire to capture the viewer’s emotions and reactions towards news. The artist explains, “I usually capture different scenes based on posture and body language, so my main inspiration comes from people surrounding me including family and friends.” Taking four weeks to complete, Imperfection Perfections 8 features unique facial expressions, body postures and imperfections, which distinguish itself from his other works. The artist describes his design process: “I call it a reverse technique where I get actual models to recreate a photographed pose. Next, the models are dressed in plaster bandage to get the negative forms of the subject which I manipulate into clay and then edit through the addition and subtraction methods to capture the facial expressions. Finally, I make a mould to prepare for casting.” As an emerging artist and sculptor, Richard is constantly working to perfect his craft while experimenting with new materials and methods. When creating sculptures, he is fuelled by emotion as a common language of unity, thus allowing the work to resonate with a wide audience. “I would like to inspire people to live fulfi lling lives knowing that they are perfect imperfections, and it is okay.” The Imperfection Perfection series was on view at Afriart Gallery Kampala, Uganda from 26 September until 5 November 2020. afriartgallery.org Richard Atugonza. Imperfection perfections 7. 2020 HBI_048_126_127_Special Feature_Richard_11450225.indd 12729/11/2020 08:41:37 PM128 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture Winter 2020 The COLLECTOR His Excellency Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh in the living room which features Farhad Moshiri’s Her Head on my Shoulder and 13 in Blue alongside other artworks HBI_048_128-135_Collector_Zaki Anwar_11445171.indd 12829/11/2020 04:49:55 PM129 HarpersBazaarArabia.com/Culture Winter 2020 Minister of State in the UAE Government Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh’s vast MENASA art collection forms a sublime space where cultures and generations convene Words by Laura Cherrie Beaney Photography by Mohammad Adel Rashid Art & Humanity te in the UAE Go sseibeh’s vast M ms a sublime spac enerations conven Words by Laura Cherrie Beaney mmad Adel Rashid HBI_048_128-135_Collector_Zaki Anwar_11445171.indd 12929/11/2020 04:50:07 PMNext >