PavilionoftheUnitedArabEmiratesatthe57thInternationalArtExhibition–LaBiennalediVenezia

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ArtworksAnnouncedfor‘Rock,Paper,Scissors:PositionsinPlay’,theNationalPavilionUAE’sexhibitionfortheBiennaleArte2017

• ArtworksbyUAE-basedartistsNujoomAlghanem,SaraAlHaddad,VikramDivecha,LantianXieandDr.MohamedYousifwillbeincludedintheUAE’sexhibition

• ArtistsRokniHaerizadeh,RaminHaerizadehandHesamRahmanian,writerDeepakUnnikrishnanandWTDMagazinehavebeencommissionedtocontributetotheexhibitionpublication,whichservesasanadditionalsiteofexhibition

• Theexhibitionexploresthethemeofplayfulnessinartisticpracticeasasourceofvitalityandinspiration,andamodeofexperimentationwithmovement,sociality,timesandplaces

12April2017,AbuDhabi:TheNationalPavilionUnitedArabEmirates(UAE)hasannouncedtheselectionof artworks to be displayed in its exhibition at the 57th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale diVenezia,aswellasadditionalcommissionstobeincludedintheaccompanyingpublicationandaseriesofactivationsandprojectswithculturalinstitutionsintheUAE.

CuratedbyHammadNasar, theexhibition, titled“Rock,Paper,Scissors:Positions inPlay”,willexploretheconceptof‘playfulness’asaconnectingthreadacrossmultiplegenerationsofartisticpracticeintheUAE.Itattemptstoaddressasetofnestedenquiries:Wheredoes‘playfulness’ inartisticpracticecomefrom?Howandwhereis‘play’nurtured?Whatdoes‘play’do?

CommissionedbytheSalamabintHamdanAlNahyanFoundationandsupportedbytheUAEMinistryofCultureandKnowledgeDevelopment, theexhibitionwill run fromMay13th toNovember26th, 2017,withapreviewfrom10thto12thMay,2017.

Theexhibitionwillpresentamixofnewcommissions,existingworksandre-fabricationsof‘lost’piecesbyfiveartistswhocalltheUAEhome:NujoomAlghanem,SaraAlHaddad,VikramDivecha,LantianXieandDr.MohamedYousif.Theirexhibitedworksapproachplaythroughmovement,rhythm,form,timeandplace.Theaccompanyingpublicationandprogramserveasadditionalsitesofplay.

“Playandplayfulnessarevehiclesthroughwhichweaschildrenlearntounderstandtheworldaroundusandnavigateourplace in it.Thisexhibition foregroundsaselectionofartistswhosepractice takes thisprocess of understanding and navigation as a source of inspiration and vitality,” saysHammadNasar.“Theseartists fitwithinanartistic trajectory in theUAEofplayandplayfulnessasamodeofcreation.Theyvariouslyexperimentwithmaterials,sound,textsandphysicalandsocialprocessesaspartoftheirartmaking.”

“With more than half a million visitors attending each edition, the International Art Exhibition of LaBiennale di Venezia is one of the world’s most prominent cultural events. The UAE is proud to beparticipating in theArt Exhibition for the fifth timewith anexhibition that captures a snapshotof the

diverse cultural and creative conversations to which our nation is home,” says Khulood Al Atiyat,ManagerofArts,CultureandHeritageattheSalamabintHamdanAlNahyanFoundation.

NujoomAlghanemwillpresentBetweenHeaven&Earth,theBodyIBorrowed,asoundinstallationbasedonapoetryperformance,Space,avisualpoem,andareproductionofSilsilatAlRamad,Volume1,aself-publishedjournalproducedbytheartistandothermembersoftheAqwascollectivein1985.

SaraAlHaddadwillcontributethreecrochetedtextileinstallations,includingoneexistingworkasyoutrytoforgetmeandtwonewcommissions:don’tyoueverleavemealone,ahangingscreen,andcan’tyouseehow i feel,whichHaddadsheathsoneof theblack steelpillars supporting thepavilion indifferentsizedcrochetedlayersofpinkyarn.

The works by Vikram Divecha are Degenerative Disarrangement, an existing work made from brickswhichwill be “relocated” in anew iteration, andBathingBoulders, a commissioned videoworkwhichdocuments the process of washing large rocks as they were installed as part of Divecha’s 2014 workBoulderPlot.

Lantian Xie presents a selection of ‘things’ throughout the pavilion space, including existing worksHassan’sAshtray,HalfCupSaffronandTaxidermyPeacock,aswellasamajorcommissiontitledArumbleinterrupted our chat – a series of objects and happeningswhichwill unfold inside and outside of thepavilionthroughouttheArtmonthsoftheBiennale.

Dr. Mohamed Yousif has refabricated two previous works which were no longer in existence: Alinsiyabiyya bil majadeef taht al maa, a large-scale installation of wooden oars, and Al Shawahid, anassemblage of anthropomorphic spoons looking on a burial mound, with a small mirror affixed in itscenter.

Dubai-based artists Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh and Hesam Rahmanian have beencommissionedtocontributea30pageseriesofpaintingsandcollagesconceivedasacreativeplaygroundforthepublication,whichwillgobeyondtheexhibition’scontentstoexplorethecuratorialconceptfromadditional creative perspectives, both visual and textual.DeepakUnnikrishnan haswritten a series ofcontemporary fables for the publication, whileWTDMagazine contribute a projectmapping informalspaces of play in the UAE; both contributionswill also have a physical presencewithin the exhibitionspace. These creative responses to the exhibition’s themes will sit alongside a series of essays. ArthistorianMurtazaVali explores theartistic genealogyofplay in theUAEwitha focuson theworksofHassan Sharif and Abdullah Al Saadi.Uzma Rizvi will write about fluidity and spaces of belonging, asjournalist Osman Samiuddin contributes a piece on cricket, its history and stories within the UAE.EthnomusicologistAishaBilkhairanalysesAfro-Emiratimusicandfolkloricgames,andReemFaddaandMaisaAlQassimiwriteabouttheresearchonAbuDhabi’ssocialclubstheyincorporatedintheircurationofEmiratiExpressions2015.

Inlinewiththecuratorialpremise,severalculturalinstitutionsacrosstheUAEhavebeeninvitedtojointheconversationaroundthethemesoftheexhibitionwithactivationsintheirownprogramming.SomeoftheconfirmedinstitutionsincludeSharjahArtFoundation,TheArtGalleryatNYUAbuDhabi,AlserkalProgramming,Tashkeel,MarayaArtCentre,Warehouse421andLondon-basedartschoolCentralSaintMartins.

DubaibasedartistHindMezainahasbeencommissionedtodevelopaprogramfortheNationalPavilionUAEexploringthecuratorialconceptsthroughherownpractice.

ResearchforthepublicationwasdoneincollaborationwithArtJameel.Aboutthecurator

HAMMADNASAR

NasarisaLahore-born,London-basedcuratorandwriter,andmostrecentlyservedasHeadofResearchandProgrammesatAsiaArtArchive,HongKong(2012-2016).Heearlierco-foundedGreenCardamom,aLondon-based, not-for-profit organization with a focus on art from South Asia and a commitment toexhibition-led enquiry. Nasar has curated or co-curated numerous international exhibitions, including:LinesofControl:PartitionasaProductiveSpace,JohnsonMuseum,CornellUniversity(2012,Ithaca,NY)andNasherMuseum,DukeUniversity(2013,Durham,NC);DrawnfromLife,AbbotHallArtGallery(2011,Kendal); Beyond the Page: TheMiniature as Attitude in Contemporary Art from Pakistan, Pacific AsiaMuseum (2010, Pasadena, CA); Where Three Dreams Cross: 150 Years of Photography from India,Pakistan and Bangladesh, Whitechapel Gallery and Fotomuseum Winterthur (2010, London andWinterthur); IntheMilieuofFatahHalepoto,SindhMuseumandVMArtGallery(2010,HyderabadandKarachi);SafavidsRevisited,BritishMuseum(2009,London);WhoAreYou?WhereAreYouReallyFrom?Whitworth Art Gallery (2006, Manchester); and Karkhana: A Contemporary Collaboration, AldrichContemporaryArtMuseum(2005,Ridgefield,CT)andAsianArtMuseum(2006,SanFrancisco,CA).

HeservesontheEditorialBoardofTate’s journal (Tateetc),onthe juries fortheV&A’s JameelPrize4andArtBasel’scrowdfundingpartnershipwithKickstarter;andonadvisorypanelsforanumberofartsorganizations internationally, including Delfina Foundation (UK), Alserkal Avenue (UAE) and LahoreBiennialFoundation(Pakistan).NasarwasaFellowoftheUK'sCloreLeadershipProgramandaResearchFellow at Goldsmiths College, London. Prior to entering the art world, heworked in professional andfinancialservices.

IMAGESANDPRESSMATERIAL:http://bit.ly/npuaemedia2017

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ARTWORKIMAGESCAPTIONS(ADDITIONALIMAGESAREONTHELINKABOVE)

NujoomAlghanem

BetweenHeaven&Earth,theBodyIBorrowed,1994.Text,documentaryphotographsofperformance,sound(soundrerecorded2017).Imagescourtesyoftheartist.

Space,1984.Typedmanuscript.Imagecourtesyoftheartist.

PagefromSilsilatAlRamad,Issue1,1985(reproduced2017).Photocopiedzinewithpoetry,writing,anddrawingsbyKhalidAlbudoor,NujoomAlghanem,YousifKhalil,andHassanSharif.Imagecourtesyoftheartists.

SaraAlHaddad

asyoutrytoforgetme,2015.Yarn,metalrings,cardboard;dimensionsvariable.ImagescourtesyofNationalPavilionUAE.

VikramDivechaDegenerativeDisarrangement,2013.Interlockingpavementbricks;dimensionsvariable.RelocatedfromAlFahidiHistoricalNeighborhood,Dubai,2017.UprootedfromAlGhubaibabusstand,Dubai,2013.SIKKA2013,commissionedbyDubaiCulture&ArtsAuthority.ImagecourtesyoftheartistandGalleryIsabellevandenEynde,Dubai.

DegenerativeDisarrangement,2013.OriginalsiteofpavementbricksAlGhubaibabusstand,Dubai.Imagecourtesyoftheartist.

DegenerativeDisarrangement,2013.PavementbricksbeinginstalledCourtyard,House33,AlFahidiHistoricalNeighbourhood,Dubai.Imagecourtesyoftheartist.

BathingBoulders,2017.VideostillsfromHDvideo.VideostillsfromHDvideo,silent,color,singlechannel,04:24min.WashingAssistant:HelalThakurTitonThakur;Videography:VikramDivecha,SwapnaKurup;Editing(BlacktopFilms):DominiquePetrot;PostProduction(WhiteLightStudio):NuttachaKhajornkaitsakul(Colorist),SorawichKhunpinij(DigitalConform),NathamonThatthanakan(VFXArtist),MaxTersch(PostSupervisor),SiripunSangjun(PostProducer).CommissionedbytheNationalPavilionoftheUnitedArabEmiratesforthe57thInternationalArtExhibition-laBiennalediVenezia.

LantianXie

HalfCupSaffron,2016.Saffron,Rainbowcondensedmilk,Liptontea,styrofoamcup,hotplate.CollectionofArtJameel.

Hassan'sAshtray,2014.Ashtray,ashes,cigarettebutts,lighter.CourtesyoftheartistandGreyNoise,Dubai.

TaxidermyPeacock,2014.CourtesyoftheartistandGreyNoise,Dubai

(Excerptfrom)Arumbleinterruptedourchat,2017.Thingsthathappen;liveband,groupoffriends,party,painting,object.Researcher:MichelleWong.CommissionedbyNationalPavilionUnitedArabEmirates-laBiennalediVenezia.

MohamedYousif

AlShawahid,1981(refabricated2017).Handmadealuminumspoons,wood,mirror,plaster,emulsionpaint.Dimensionsvariable.ImagecourtesyNationalPavilionUAE.

Alinsiyabiyyabilmajadeeftahtalmaa,1995(re-fabricatedin2017).Wood,rope.ImagecourtesyNationalPavilionUAE.

RokniHaerizadeh,RaminHaerizadehandHesamRahmanian

Untitled,2017.Ink,collage,binder,gouache,watercolourandgessoonprintedpaper.A30-pageseries,eachspread23x34cmeach.ImagescourtesyofNationalPavilionUAE.