Two free-standing art installations, specially commissioned to commemorate the Abu Dhabi Festival’s landmark 10th edition, were unveiled yesterday.

 

The two striking, large scale works were conceived and executed by two esteemed Emirati artists: Jalal Luqman, a multi-media artist whose work has been exhibited across the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the US; and acclaimed self-taught painter, sculptor and photographer Mattar Bin Lahej. 

 

The unveiling, held under the patronage of Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, took place in the presence of Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority,  Hoda I Al Khamis - Kanoo, founder and artistic director of the Abu Dhabi Festival, Mubarak Hamad Al Muhairi, director general of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, and an array of esteemed guests. 

 

It followed by an exclusive tour of the festival’s paramount visual arts exhibition ‘25 Years of Arab Creativity’. 

 

Concerning his piece named ‘Point of View’, which stands 2 metres high and 4 metres in length, Jala Luqman explained its subtext: “The search for the truth is often simple, yet we as humans believe that only that which is hard and difficult is of value; we either simplify or complicate things, and at the end it is all in our perception and our point of view.” Demonstrating his point, Luqman’s installation resembles haphazard stacks of boxes from many perspectives, but from the optimal position they can be seen to spell ‘Allah’ in Arabic. 

 

Mattar Bin Lahej’s piece entitled ‘Rhapsody of Culture’ consists of a silver, pointed tower which sits upon a rounded base with a round pearl at the core. Aptly named given the spirit of the Abu Dhabi Festival, he said, “The work expresses the mix between technology and art, giving rise to a new phenomenon that is a blend of both. I have tried to express the interaction between these two elements, also known as the rhapsody of culture.”

 

The artworks will be on display in the Emirates Palace Auditorium Foyer until March 31. - TradeArabia News Service