From an outside perspective, the UAE can be a baffling, overwhelming place. But for the city’s migrant artists, it’s a goldmine, with cultural contrasts, urban development and widespread commercialism all ripe topics for creative expression. Bringing together six of the Emirates’ most prominent French artists, new show Regard Sur Les Emirats represents a collective reaction to the people, landscapes and lifestyle of our unique nation.
Ahead of the exhibition’s opening next week, we spoke to the curator, Karine de Labouchere, and some of the artists involved.
Chritch
Having been in the UAE for more than eight years, Chritch has seen the city evolve from a building site-strewn sandpit to the bustling metropolis it is today. Curiously, her work has evolved at a similar pace. ‘I’ve started to make collages with sand, flowers, things like that,’ she tells us. ‘The longer I’ve been here, the more natural materials have become part of my work. Also, my work used to be very smooth, but I’ve started to add more layers over time.’ ‘Wonderland’, a large diptych set to be one of the show’s centrepieces, is one of Chritch’s latest works. ‘It’s a very abstract piece – just like Abu Dhabi,’ she explains. ‘When we first hear about these exciting projects happening in the city, it feels abstract, but when you see them finished you realise you’re not in a wonderland, that it’s reality.’
Virginie Troit
Since she moved to the UAE five years ago, photographer Virginie has been fascinated by the speed of the urban development surrounding her. ‘On my first day in the Emirates, I went on to the roof of a tower in Dubai Marina,’ she says. ‘I was surrounded by cranes and concrete, and from the beginning I was shocked by the immense growth. It’s quite a unique thing to witness the birth of a city.’ This idea of an emerging city has since become dominant in her work, nowhere more so than in ‘DXB So Fast’, a piece of abstract photography printed on to aluminium.
‘I really wanted to communicate to the public that each of us has our own unique life to live in the Emirates, and each of us has our own emotions and sensations. When you see the pictures, you feel this sensation, of growth, of speed, questions of capitalism.’ She’s also keen to point out that, unlike many digital artists, her images come straight out of the camera. ‘This is not a montage. I haven’t used photo editing software. I alter the colour slightly and crop, but otherwise, what the camera takes, the eyes see.’
Benedicte Gimonet
With only 18 months of Abu Dhabi life under her belt, Benedicte is relatively new in town. Still, in this short time the painter’s work has apparently seen many changes. ‘Her colours and the forms have changed a lot, become more abstract,’ says exhibition curator Karine de Labouchere. ‘Her style is really different now to when she arrived.’ Her piece ‘Holy Suns’ is one to look out for, with metallic-coloured curves bringing to mind the shifting Arabian desert landscapes.
Karine Roche
Inspired mainly by experiences in Dubai, highlighting the contrast of traditional and modern ideals within the UAE seems to be at the core of Karine’s work. ‘Atmospheric Dubai’ – part of a diptych – depicts a small mosque dwarfed by colossal skyscrapers, so lofty that they defy the edges of her canvas. ‘I want to speak about the mixture of modernity and tradition,’ Karine tells us. ‘The painting shows that, despite the modern developments, the traditional aspects of the city are still here, still very strong.’
Karine’s work, too, has seen many changes since her arrival in the city 12 months ago. ‘The light here is so strong, so the colours tend to be less dense and my paintings have a lighter feel.’
Regard Sur Les Emirats runs from May 15-25 at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development (corner of Muroor Road and Mohamed Bin Khalifa Street, close to the National Theatre) (02 446 6145). Throughout the exhibition, artists will be holding creative demonstrations. For more information, contact Karine de Labouchere, kdelabouchere@hotmail.com (050 441 0560)
