All Projects
تطویر – Tatweer
A skills development program to support The National Grant Program for Culture and Creativity.
Join Jolaine Frizzell and Nasser Abdulla for an insightful introductory workshop on the Grant Application process. They will provide invaluable tips and strategies to strengthen your application.
Timing and Location:
Abu Dhabi, 20 May 2024 3-4 pm, Ajman 22 May 3-4 pm, Fujairah 23 May 3-4 pm and Online 27, 28 May 3-4 pm.
تطویر - Tatweer is tailored to creative professionals who are looking to refine their grant application. The primary objective of these workshops is to help participants better understand the grant requirements and strategies for creating an impactful portfolio and application. Through interactive lectures and personalized feedback, this course will ensure that each participant has the tools to showcase their work effectively. Participants will gain a solid understanding and get one-on-one feedback from Industry Professionals. This skills development program supports the National Grant Program with The Ministry of Culture.
The Clock doesn’t care
Mona Ayyash
Artistic Development Program
16 May - 25 August 2024
421 Arts Campus
In her first solo exhibition, The Clock Doesn’t Care, Mona Ayyash presents a collaborative video piece with a group of actors, dancers, and performance artists, focusing on small body movements. The work is a study of repetitive non-functional movements, without purpose or productivity. It questions the tension between passing time and wasting time.
Selected through an open call, the artist’s collaborators committed to a long-term creative process where they contributed to the work by filming themselves responding to movement prompts, encouraging them to consider what ‘doing nothing’ looks like.
This project grew from the artist’s earlier participation in the Homebound Residency Program in 2020, where she produced a video work titled Folding Bellies in collaboration with five participants from the UAE art community.
Ayyash is participating in the 2024 cycle of the 421 Artistic Development Program, mentored by Jolaine Frizzell. The Artist Development Program is a capacity-building program that gives UAE-based artists the opportunity to develop a major body of work that culminates in a solo exhibition.
The artist would like to thank Inês de Almeida, Dana Amer, Ahmed Elsaghier, Ralph Kabalan, Dalia Khalife, Sara Masinaei, Mohsen Mohi, Vighnesh Prasad, and Alina Vishnevskaia.
Artist Talk Series: Mona Ayyash
16 May 2024
421
Conversation with Mona Ayyash and Jolaine Frizzell where they discuss Mona’s solo exhibition as part of the Artistic Development Program
Talk: Summits of Solitude
13 February 2024
FN Design
Artist Ji-Hye Kim joins Jolaine Frizzell to discuss how Ji-Hye’s practice has grown during Tashkeel’s Critical Practice Programme and the journey behind the new body of work presented in this solo show.
Counting Fingers
Hana El-Sagini
Artistic Development Program
11 February - 28 April, 2024
421 Arts Campus
In this major solo exhibition, Hana El-Sagini presents a newly commissioned large-scale installation rooted in the instability and fragility of the human experience. The installation showcases over 200 fantastical ceramic objects, culminating in surreal sculptures and structures that replicate and reimagine healthcare spaces, such as medical waiting rooms, hospital corridors, and doctors' offices. These spaces, typically perceived as sterile and stoic domains, are transformed into dreamlike sites that are bizarre, eerie, and amusing. Taking over Gallery 1, the showcased work immerses visitors in the artist's deeply personal world.
Artist Talk Series: Hana El-Sagini
11 February 2024
421
Join Hana El-Sagini and Jolaine Frizzell where they discuss Hana’s solo exhibition as part of the Artistic Development Program
Art fair - Abu Dhabi Art 2023
Aisha Alabbar Gallery - Nujoom Alghanem
22 - 26 November 2023
Jolaine curates with Aisha Alabbar Gallery to show Emirati artist, poet, and multi-award-winning film director, Nujoom Alghanem (b. Dubai, 1962) at Abu Dhabi Art.
Muheera & I
Abdulrahim Salim
15 November 2023 - 15 February 2024
Aisha Alabbar Gallery
Jolaine curated Muheera & I, Abdulrahim Salim’s first solo exhibition with the gallery.
In this extensive collection spanning two decades of Salim's career, this exhibition presents a retrospective of the artist's oeuvre, including figurative drawings, paper collages, and his most renowned abstract paintings, encompassing the period from 1999 to the present day.
Central to his artistic vision is the enduring influence of folklore and the captivating character, Muheera. Initially misunderstood and burdened with a tragic narrative involving a black magic curse, Muheera has been a constant source of inspiration for Salim. Through her story, Salim not only celebrates the strength and resilience of women but also challenges preconceived notions about their role within society.
Workshop: Artist Toolkit: Strategies for Applying to Open Calls
15-17 December 2023
421 Arts Campus
This 3-day workshop addresses the challenges artists and creative practitioners face when applying for open calls, grants, and other career opportunities. Jolaine introduces strategies on how to find and apply for the right opportunities for your career, and best practices when it comes to application writing. The course includes contributions by industry professionals who will share insights into how application committees make decisions when deliberating on a grant or open-call panel. The sessions will also touch on common application requirements, misconceptions, and effective approaches to a successful application.
Talk: Ways of Seeing
31 October 2023
FN Design
Tashkeel Critical Practice Programme Artist Jamal Tayara Baroudy joins Jolaine Frizzell to discuss how her practice has grown during her time in Tashkeel’s Critical Practice programme and the journey behind the new body of work presented in her solo show.
Solid Void
Asma Belhamar
Artistic Development Program
22 October – 15 January 2024
421 Arts Campus
In this new solo exhibition, artist Asma Belhamar presents works inspired by the UAE’s architectural history. The structure captures the tensions between shifting natural geographies and dynamic urban environments, resulting in a sensitive technical approach to the fusion of form. The exhibition is footnoted by the artist’s reflections on culture and national identity in flux.
Talk: "So, you are not the curator?”
Creative Career Days
09 October 2023
Jameel Art Centre
Jolaine and Alisa Fung, Director of Sales at Aisha Alabbar Gallery, shared their experiences of working within the art gallery sector. Their discussion focussed on the disparate functions and roles required to facilitate the smooth running of a global commercial contemporary art gallery. Our speakers focussed on accounting, law, database management, graphic design, artist liaison, marketing and sales.
Talk: Instagram for Artists: Maximise Your Impact
Creative Careers Days
08 October 2023
Jameel Art Centre
Jolaine and Morvarid Ranjbar (IEA) hosted a career skills seminar which focussed on how artists can maximise their use of Instagram to further their professional profiles. The seminar taught participants to make the most of this platform and how to consolidate pubic profiles. The Institute also offered one-to-one surgeries providing bespoke assessments of each individual’s Instagram profile.
In Conversation With: Virtual discussions with established creatives.
Online talk
26 September 2023
Misk, KSA
Jolaine participated in Misk Art Institute's weekly virtual talks discussing the local art scene and the complexities of entering the art market and is designed to help emerging artists navigate opportunities in the arts industry.
The Scent of Memories
Najat Makki
13 September - 8 November 2023
Aisha Alabbar Gallery
Jolaine curated The Scent of Memories, Najat Makki’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. Najat is a pioneering figure within the local art community, and her profound insights into the relationship between colour and the memories associated with specific places have significantly enriched the depth and diversity of her expression.
In this new body of work, she layers colours on top of each other to create intense sensory experiences in her paintings by challenging the limits of colour’s impact on our senses. Her recent works on fabric include contemporary interpretations and adaptations of the dot and paisley design from traditional fabrics.
The Scent of Memories serves as a testament to Makki’s daring and inventive approach, consistently pushing the boundaries of her practice by exploring new techniques and mediums.
The Institute Crits
Online talk
18 July 2023
The Institute for Emerging Art
On July 18th, three artists presented their work in a group critique. The session provided an opportunity to receive feedback and advice and to explore the work's questions.
Talk: Introduction to Printmaking
31 May 2023
Aisha Alabbar Gallery
Together with printmaker and artist Ji-Hye Kim, Jolaine Frizzell held an introductory talk highlighting the many aspects of printmaking as an artistic practice. This talk supports the Press Print! exhibition held at the gallery.
421 Artistic Development Program
Nassir Nasallah ”Poetic of Machines”
18 May - 27 August 2023
‘Poetic of Machines’ is Nasir Nasrallah’s new solo exhibition resulting from the 2023 edition of the Artistic Development Exhibition Program in collaboration with 421. Nasir presents a mythical exploration of the relationship between humans and machines. With over 30 new artworks, including intricate drawings, paintings, textiles, publications, and installations, it creates a world of mechanical creatures in an unknown space and time. The exhibition showcases detailed drawings and paintings of various robotic figures presented in groups that suggest a community of machines. Nasir explores the communication and interaction between these machines and how they can affect our daily lives, inviting us to consider the impact of machines on our relationship with them.
Talk: Nooks of Power
17 May 2023
Alserkal Avenue
Sophiya Khawaja and Jolaine Frizzell discuss how Sophiya’s practice has changed, the journey in Tashkeel’s Critical Practice Programme and its impact on the new body of work presented in her first solo show.
Talk: Nassir Nasallah
08 May 2023
421 Arts Campus
Join Nassir Nasallah and Jolaine Frizzell where they discuss Nasir'’s solo exhibition as part of the Artistic Development Program
Artist Toolkit: Strategies for Applying to Open Calls In-pe 421
17 - 19 March 2023
421 Arts Campus
The three-day course focused on the difficulties artists and creatives face when applying for open calls, grants, and opportunities. In this course Jolaine discussed how to write applications and find the right opportunities. Contributions from industry professionals were included in the course as they will share insights into how application committees make decisions when assessing on a grant or open call panel. The sessions covered common application requirements, misinterpretations, and different approaches to successful applications.
Asma Belhamar and Sultan Al Remeithi
1 - 5 March 2023
Art Dubai 2023
Jolaine curates for Aisha Alabbar Gallery at Art Dubai with a presentation of Emirati artists Asma Belhamar (b. 1988) and Sultan Al Remeithi (b. 1989). Reflecting on the transition from pre to post-industrial developing rapidly during the 1980s, both artists explore contemporary Emirati nostalgia. This natural-to-urban transformation often remains commemorated in architectural structures. What were once landmark lively sites - historically inhabited by Emirati communities – have experienced spatial and cultural shifts with gentrification. While memories of this life are passed on, this recent period in Emirati history faces being forgotten. In these new bodies of work, Asma and Sultan explore this loss and question the contemporary urban fabric of the UAE.
Unframed
Nujoom Alghanem
22 February - 26 May 2023
Aisha Alabbar Gallery
Jolaine curated Unframed, a solo exhibition by Nujoom Alghanem. Bringing together for the first time historical and new paintings as well as a new series of photographic film stills, the exhibition identifies key moments from Nujoom’s two-decade-plus career as an artist, poet, and filmmaker, looking beyond the metaphoric film reel and focusing one frame at a time.
Of Mythic Propositions
Mahshid Rafiei
Artistic Development Program
05 February - 8 May 2023
421 Arts Campus
‘Of Mythic Proportions’ is the first institutional solo exhibition by Mahshid Rafiei, resulting from 421’s Artistic Development Program, a partnership between The Institute for Emerging Art and 421. Rafiei's work is based on extensive research in areas such as language, conservation practices, and the relationship between heritage and nationhood. The exhibition explores the myth of origin and aesthetic processes of conservation. The works are about language and the difference between allegory, symbol and metaphor as they materialize in concrete forms. She attempts to redefine the nature of representation and offers that it can be held in the viewer's mind.
Talk: Mahshid Rafiei
05 February 2023
421 Arts Campus
Join Mahshid Rafiei and Jolaine Frizzell when they discuss Mashid’s solo exhibition as part of the Artistic Development Program
In Search of Eden
Bénédicte Gimonnet
11 January - 18 February 2023
Aisha Alabbar Gallery
Jolaine curated, In Search of Eden by Bénédicte Gimonnet. In her first solo exhibition at the gallery, the UAE-based French painter creates new imaginative environments where, like an idealistic idiom of multiculturalism, difference literally grows and feeds from each other. It’s the antonym for “garden variety” – an Eden that necessarily embodies diversity, and Bénédicte gathers disparate material and conceptual elements together.
Alia Hussain Lootah
16 - 20 November 2022
Abu Dhabi Art 2022
Jolaine curated for Aisha Alabbar Gallery at Abu Dhabi Art 2022, a new body of work by Emirati artist Alia Hussain Lootah (b. Dubai, 1987).
Consisting of three series each made in a different medium, Alia’s new works are continued explorations of kinship, interconnectedness and domesticity. Alia began exploring these concepts during the Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship (SEAF) in 2014, drawing from her experience with motherhood. Since then, her representation of the subject developed through a protracted inward-looking process over six years, moving from figuration and familial intimacy to more abstract expressions.
Talk: Visual Literacy as social action: Photography praxis for social change.
UNESCO Symposium
Chair in Democracy, Global Citizenship and Transformative Education
27 October 2022
Zoom
This panel discussion made up of Miranda McKee, Kevin Jones, Jolaine Frizzell, Rohit Goel reflected upon a series of dialogical, visual literacy workshops hosted by Juniper Mind in late 2020 and considered photography praxis for social change.
Talk: Artistic Practice: from school years to a professional career
Creative Career Days
24 October 2022
Jameel Arts Centre
Jolaine moderated a conversation with Nasser Alzayani, Moza Almatrooshi and Rand Abdul Jabbar focusing on their journeys to artistic success, focusing on how they developed their practices, through often unexpected career twists and turns.
Workshop: Instagram for Artists: Maximise Your Impact!
Creative Career Days
23 October 2022
Jameel Art Centre
This workshop focused on how artists can improve their Instagram presence to further develop their careers.
Talk: So to Speak
12 October 2022
Tashkeel
Shamma Al Amri and Jolaine discuss how the non-Arabic speaker can access the work presented in Shamma’s exhibition as well as her journey in the Critical Practice Programme and its impact on the trajectory of her art practice.
Let Me Tell You Something
Mohammed Khalid
Artistic Development Program
09 October 2022
421 Arts Campus
‘Let me tell you something’ is the first institutional solo exhibition by UAE-based artist Mohamed Khalid, resulting from 421’s Artistic Development Program, a partnership between The Institute for Emerging Art and 421. The exhibition examines the materiality of everyday objects and coaxes out their metaphoric potential, exploring the connectivity of the artist's subjects and their frangible correlation to human beings.
Talk: Mohammed Khalid
09 October 2022
421 Arts Campus
Join Mohammed Khalid and Jolaine Frizzell when they discuss Khalid’s solo exhibition as part of the Artistic Development Program
square: not square
Eman Al Hashemi
15 September - 29 December 2022
Aisha Alabbar Gallery
Jolaine curated square: not square, Eman Al Hashemi’s first solo exhibition at the gallery. In this exhibition, the multidisciplinary Emirati artist addresses the effects of waiting by isolating different square-based objects and utensils from their everyday usage and subjecting them to surreal, slightly funny tests of time and multiplicity.
In multiple series of works made in ceramics, stitched and compressed paper, and concertinaed books, the artworks highlight the differences that emerge from sameness. Square plates are stacked up, squares form uneven grids, and spoons sit alongside each other in a parody of identical manufacture. For Eman, the repetition of objects speaks not to the purity of mathematics but to the contextual reality of life. By carefully making every work herself, she emphasises individuation and difference in what are ostensibly identical objects.
Chill: Summer in the City
In collaboration with Iris Art Advisory
7 June - 9 September 2022
Aisha Alabbar Gallery
Aisha Alabbar Gallery eases into the summer season with Chill: Summer in the City, a group exhibition in collaboration with Iris Art Advisory, featuring works by Ahmed Emad, Lama Alshenaifi, Safeya Sharif and Yosra Emamizadeh.
Summer in the UAE is not always the stereotypical fantasy where one chills on the beach and sips and icy drink by a palm tree. Instead, as the mercury passes above 40 degrees Celsius, residents are on the hunt from one air-conditioned environment to the next. Best described as a habitat that cultivates dreams, our vibrant cities change pace and drive society to look inwards. Indoor spaces transform into cool capsules that defy the heat and push the limits of imagination. This exhibition brings together four artists who aim to cool you down.
Talk: Abstraction and Politics in Visual Art
21 May 2022
421 Arts Campus
Jolaine Frizzell and Jill Magi discussed abstraction in art and its political resonances during her exhibition “The Weft In Pencil” as part of the Artistic Development Program.
The Weft In Pencil
Jill Magi
Artistic Development Program
21 May - 21 September 2022
421 Arts Campus
Jill Magi’s first solo exhibition “The Weft in Pencil” is a body of work resulting from the Artistic Development Program, a partnership between The Institute for Emerging Art and 421. Magi presents works which are rooted in grid or matrix formations, the intersection of wrap and weft. The works are inspired by an encounter Magi had when she fortuitously discovered images of North African indigo textiles in a university library book.
NO
Mohamed Al Mazrouei
2 March - 29 May 2022
Aisha Alabbar Gallery
Jolaine curates NO, a solo exhibition by prominent Emirati artist and poet Mohamed Al Mazrouei. Comprised new and existing works that date back to the 1980s, NO becomes a gesture to follow a thread in his practice and shows his interest in language’s dynamism.
The concept behind Al Mazrouei’s first exhibition at the gallery comes from a textile remnant found along the street in Cairo. The artist noticed how this fragment with the English word “NO” reflected his current intention and orientation, feeling alienated, not geographically, but as a personal feeling of estrangement or expression of nostalgia.
Out of Range
Ammar Al Attar
Artistic Development Program
27 Feb 2022 — 08 May 2022
421 Arts Campus
The first solo exhibition by Ammar Al Attar resulting from the Artistic Development Program held in partnership with 421 Al Attar presents an all new body of work in performance and video, questioning the extent to which people accept the repetitive, stagnant situation and their indifference to change speaking to this position of comfort that makes individuals like machines without a soul.
Talk: Failure and The Artistic Process
27 February 2022
421 Arts Campus
The “Out of Range” opening included a talk between Ammar Al Attar and Nasser Abdullah, which discussed failure as part of the artistic process, moderated by Jolaine Frizzell.
The Quest
Curated by Nasser Abdullah
12 January - 26 February 2022
Aisha Alabbar Gallery
Aisha Alabbar Gallery presented The Quest, a group exhibition curated by Nasser Abdullah that features four UAE-based artists: Alia Hussain Lootah, Majd Alloush, Sara Ahli, and Zeina Al Kattan.
Taking inspiration from Amin Maalouf’s 2004 novel Origins, the exhibition explores life experiences that set forth an artist’s path. While these experiences are met on the search for answers about the meaning of life and its purpose, those who create through the lens of these accumulated experiences are the ones we call “artists.”
The quest to understand the purpose of this life varies across people and interests. Art appears to be an attempt to understand the contexts of the ever-changing reality in which we live, forcing the artist to experience several adventures, and follow history, news and anecdotes to obtain answers and come to realisations that would allow them to start a new artistic experience. This leads them to deeper, more profound questions, once again prompting a never-ending journey of reflection.
Mona Al Khaja and Laila Juma
17 - 21 November 2021
Abu Dhabi Art 2021
Jolaine curated Aisha’s first participation at Abu Dhabi Art, with a selection of new paintings by Emirati artist Mona Al Khaja and sculptures by Laila Juma
In Mona’s most recent paintings, the artist draws from personal encounters with travel and street life. She explores life as it occurred before the pandemic using grades of bright colours to emphasize minute details that in turn propel the viewer to experience the smell of spices in the souq, the textures of thread in Al Hussein, moments of light and shade in Al Seef, the taste of fresh produce on the side of the road, and the rush of purpose that drives life every day.
These exhibited paintings represent a culmination of Mona’s extensive experience as an artist and as a traveler and a romantic observer, who seeks beauty in life. She shows that time is precious and encourages viewers to use it consciously to experience reality fully.
Talk with Dr. Najat Makki
27 October 2021
Sotheby’s Dubai
Dr. Najat Makki and Jolaine Frizzell spoke together about her practice to accompany the artist's exhibition 'I Write in Colour'.
Squaring the Circle
Layla Juma
28 September - 31 December 2021
Aisha Alabbar Gallery
Jolaine curated Squaring the Circle by Emirati artist Layla Juma. In her first solo exhibition at the gallery, Juma explores the complexities of subtle states, finding balance by merging physical forms with abstract ideas. The artist sees shapes not as we see them but as dynamic beings with the potential to align despite their unique properties. Squaring the circle becomes a challenging process that looks for overlapping points in disconnected areas and blurs the divide between rational perception and experimental methods.
Talk: Borrowed Vision Collecting Emerging Art
Naqd Critique
4 May 2021
Zoom
In a special online session held in collaboration with Naqd Critique, Jolaine Frizzell shares what her clients and collectors look for when collecting emerging artists situated in this region. The talk is followed by a Q&A session.
I Write in Colour
Dr. Najat Makki
31 March - 5 September 2021
Aisha Alabbar Gallery
Jolaine curated I Write in Colour, the first solo exhibition of the artist at the gallery. Dr. Makki is considered one of the innovators of the local scene and has contributed to the complexity and richness of its artistic expression through her experimentation with color compositions and the use of fluorescent paints. Makki’s consuming intrigue by the semantics of color and her skillful brush were harnessed at a young age, when she would witness the colormap of vivid herbs laid out in sacks at her father’s spice shop. Thyme, henna, saffron and curcumin lured her in, presenting a new dawn of shade, texture and scent. To this day, Makki’s practice is marked by daring surveys of new natural and synthetic materials, influenced by her reading of philosophy, poetry and her affinity for music. At times, she opts for large scrolls where paint bounces like music notes or rhythmic prose in melodic harmony.
Layered Contradictions
Khalid Al Banna
27 January - 6 March 2021
Aisha Alabbar Gallery
Jolaine curated Layered Contradictions, the first solo exhibition of the artist at the gallery. Repetition and chance are contemporary artist Khalid Al Banna’s modus operandi. Surveying his characteristic body of work in collage and fabric, Layered Contradictions reveals his approach to world building that transcends the limitations of reality. A tireless experimenter who pushes the limits of his own practice, Al Banna takes a chance on the inspiration of the moment in a meditation of form and technique that captures a tension between deep deliberation and the promise of randomness.
Picturing the Invisible
The Art Circle
28 June 2020
Zoom
Held in collaboration with Abu Dhabi-based The Art Circle, Picturing the Invisible features Jolaine Frizzell moderationg a conversation with Ammar. Abd Rabbo, Erika Larsen, and Shannon Taggart.
Art and Artists in Times of Disruption II
21 May 2020
Zoom
In this installation of 421 Conversation, our speakers tackle the topic of art and artists in times of disruption with a long-sighted view. Nadine Khalil moderated a diverse panel of players in the arts ecosystem. Link to Conversation.
Visual Literacy: Protest!
Local Protest, Global Image
Juniper Mind
9 December 2020
Interactive Workshop on Zoom
Local Protest, Global Image was the final session, part of the Visual Literacy: Protest in collaboration with Kevin Jones from the Juniper Mind.
Visual Literacy: Protest!
Exhibiting Pain
Juniper Mind
2 December 2020
Interactive Workshop on Zoom
Exhibiting Pain is the third session of Visual Literacy: Protest, in collaboration with Kevin Jones from the Juniper Mind.
The Visual Literacy: Protest!
The Anatomy of Protest
Juniper Mind
18 November 2020
Interactive Workshop on Zoom
Jolaine led four interactive workshops on the pedagogic interests of the many protests currently taking place. These weekly sessions were held from 18 November to 9 December 2020 in collaboration with Kevin Jones from the Juniper Mind, with the first session addressing The Anatomy of Protest.
Visual Literacy: Protest!
How Do Images Take Sides?
Juniper Mind
5 November 2020
Interactive Workshop on Zoom
How Do Images Take Sides? is the second session of Visual Literacy: Protest, in collaboration with Kevin Jones from the Juniper Mind.
Granted: Gulf Artist Grant Writing Support
Online
27 April - 31 August 2020
In recognition of the UK Artist Grant Writing Support initiative, Granted: Gulf Artist Grant Writing Support has been launched as a local network of arts professionals within the contemporary art ecosystem. This network, led by our Director, Jolaine Frizzell with Kevin Jones of Juniper Mind, has been established in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on artists
Bloom: a metamorphosis of paper
Li Hongbo
December 2019 – February 2020
Maraya Art Centre, Sharjah
The 22nd edition of the Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival features an exhibition titled Bloom by Beijing-based sculptor Li Hongbo, curated by Jolaine Frizzell. It marks Li's first solo exhibition in the Gulf region. Through his unique approach, Li transforms paper sculpture and traditional Chinese craft practices, challenging viewers' perceptions by presenting objects that initially appear as flowers but reveal themselves to be guns and artillery when viewed from a distance. This juxtaposition serves as an allegorical commentary on the disarmament of weapons for peace amidst the darkness of the world. Inspired by Islamic design traditions observed in tiling, carpets, and mosaics, Li incorporates a cross-cultural perspective, merging Chinese craft traditions with Islamic patterns and motifs. The exhibition showcases thousands of paper objects filling Maraya Art Centre's gallery space, reminiscent of the historic tradition of papermaking in Chinese culture. Li's meticulous layering technique creates intricate forms that evoke both materiality and immateriality, drawing on the symbolism of auspicious lanterns and gourds found in everyday Chinese life.
Living Shrines: Uyghur Manifestations of Faith, Saints, and Islam in Western China
Lisa Ross
April 2014 – June 2014
Brunei Gallery, SOAS, University of London
In Living Shrines, curated by Jolaine, Lisa Ross documents the Uyghur religious tradition in the Taklamakan Desert of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region over a decade-long period. She focuses on mazârs, Islamic pilgrimage sites honoring Sufi saints, capturing their devotional and spiritual significance. Ross's photographs evoke a sense of the sacred through the luminous glow of the sites, often depicted without human figures, allowing viewers to engage intimately with the landscape. Collaborating with Uyghur folklorist Rahile Dawut and French historian Alexandre Papas, Ross's work serves as a poignant archive of faith, cultural history, and resilience amidst social and political change.