CONCRETE, ALSERKAL AVENUE (NOV 6-18, 2017) Meditative and Immersive Installation While We Wait

Opening Reception of While We Wait, commissioned by Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Concrete on 5 November 2017 / Image credit Abbi Kemp / Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue

The artwork has been designed by Palestinian architects and designers Elias and Yousef Anastas (AAU ANASTAS). The exhibition is supported by a curated public programme led by the architects.

“The vision behind Concrete has always been to create a multi-dimensional platform that is ideal for museum-grade exhibitions across the spectrum of art, performance and design. While We Wait inhabits the intersection of contemporary art and design while also being relevant to the diverse audiences in Dubai. We hope that this will be the first of many such collaborations,” says Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal, founder of Alserkal Avenue.

L-R: Salma Tuqan, Yousef Anastas, Vilma Jurkute, Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal, Elias Anastas; While We Wait, commissioned by Victoria and Albert Museum, London, in Concrete on 5 November 2017 / Image credit Abbi Kemp / Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue

The installation is comprised of pieces of stone quarried in various regions of Palestine, which fit together to form a large, lattice-like, self-supporting structure. The resulting sculptural installation is visually porous, allowing viewers to see their surroundings from inside, whilst listening to evocative sound and video components. While We Wait was designed digitally, cut by robots, and hand-finished by artists. Using ‘stereotomy’, the art of cutting stones for assembly, the installation was produced in Palestine, and elements of the process have employed traditional techniques from the region.

While We Wait is inspired by the Cremisan Valley, near Bethlehem, where the separation wall is currently being built, threatening to sever the historic link between the valley and its eponymous monastery. In contrast to the concrete wall, which dominates and divides the landscape, this installation venerates extreme natural beauty and evokes the Cremisan Valley, its eventual home. While We Wait is on view in Concrete in Alserkal Avenue before it moves to the Cremisan Valley where it will represent a celebration of the relationship between nature and architecture in the context of the Palestinian landscape.

While We Wait, commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, on show in Concrete, Alserkal Avenue / Photo credit Musthafa Aboobacker / Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue

While We Wait, commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, on show in Concrete, Alserkal Avenue / Photo credit Musthafa Aboobacker / Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue

While We Wait, commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, on show in Concrete, Alserkal Avenue / Photo credit Musthafa Aboobacker / Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue

While We Wait, commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, on show in Concrete, Alserkal Avenue / Photo credit Musthafa Aboobacker / Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue

While We Wait, commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, on show in Concrete, Alserkal Avenue / Photo credit Musthafa Aboobacker / Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue

While We Wait, commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, on show in Concrete, Alserkal Avenue / Photo credit Musthafa Aboobacker / Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue

While We Wait, commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, on show in Concrete, Alserkal Avenue / Photo credit Musthafa Aboobacker / Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue

While We Wait, commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, on show in Concrete, Alserkal Avenue / Photo credit Musthafa Aboobacker / Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue

Concrete, a multi-disciplinary public space located in the Avenue, is conceptualised by Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal, Founder of Alserkal Avenue, was designed by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), which was founded by Pritzker Architecture Prize-Laureate Rem Koolhaas. Concrete opened to the public in March 2017 during Dubai Art Week, and is the first building to be completed by OMA in the UAE.