In this new solo exhibition, artist Asma Belhamar presents a major body of work inspired by the UAE’s architectural history. The exhibition is footnoted by the artist’s reflections on culture and national identity in flux. 

Belhamar contemplates the country’s history through its manmade landscapes by referencing three scenes from a music video released in the early 70s, titled "Esh Halkom Ya Arab," by prolific Emirati singer Abdullah Belkhair. Each captured scene reflects a different cultural facet from that time. Some scenes in Belkhair’s music video are set in the vibrant Al Hamriya residential neighborhood by Dubai’s Al Mamzar Beach, and are lensed through a national interpretation of modernity. Here, concrete structures feature both Western architecture and neo-Islamic patterns. Other scenes are an emotional mirror of the singer's heartfelt performance. Set within a studio, the abstract melancholic void is reminiscent of rocky mountains, accented by the presence of two striking red arches bathed in a soft glow of orange and green spotlights.

As we move through the exhibition space, we encounter the embodiment of the artist's observations and experiments through a stunning wall relief. An intricate tableau of mountainous rock formations is meticulously etched with neo-Islamic motifs that serve as a powerful visual metaphor for the UAE’s urban fabric, nestled in its natural geography. Belhamar’s work captures the essence of time and motion in a tangible form, nodding to the cultural tapestry of the UAE, as it makes its mark on urban and natural environments.

The exhibition narrates the topographic evolution of the UAE, as influenced by Western classical modernity, contemporary traditionalism in Islam, and the historic trade relationships that shaped much of that landscape. The artist's deft interpretation reveals the diversity and fragmentation of the design sensibilities that have made the nation’s aesthetic identity what it is today. 

More information on the event can be found here.