ART DUBAI (20 - 23 March, 2019) The Third Line at Art Dubai 2019

The selection of artists used the written word, some literally, others less so, some with irony, others with bluntness, to address the social, political and/or cultural matters that guide their practices.

The work of Fouad Elkoury references the social theories of author and filmmaker Paul Virilio, who explores the relationship between image and war technology. Fouad layers text on photographic montages mounted on aluminium, in a poetic and personal exploration of national aspirations and the dream of the individual.

Fouad Elkoury, Birds, 2009, Ink jet print mounted on aluminium, 75 x 50 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the artist

Farah Al Qasimi’s art practice is based around photographing the unusual, and the often overlooked, places where she finds herself positioned. In her series The World is Sinking, Farah takes an introspective look at the Emirates, where she grew up. Evidencing the rapid change of local landscape in the name of growth and development, Farah’s photographs demonstrate how rushed attempts often end up in near comical results.

Farah Al Qasimi, Old McDonalds, Archival inkjet print, 69 x 8 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the artist

Operation Supermarket is one of Farhad Moshiri and Shirin Aliabadi’s collaborative series, in which labels of known supermarket commodities have been replaced with ironic phrases. In the words of the artists, the works mix "poetry with detergent.”

Farhad Moshiri & Shirin Aliabadi, We Are All Americans, 2006. Lambda print on photographic paper, 75 x 100 cm. Ed of 10 / Courtesy of The Third Line and the artist

Huda Lutfi uses her signature paper cut out technique to create minimalist and calligraphic abstractions which she calls ‘paper sculptures’. Reminiscent of muted script, where only the outline remains, the mere idea of words seems louder than the written one.

Huda-Lutfi, 33, 2018. Acrylic, oil-pastels, collage-on-paper, 25 x 18.5 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the artist

Huda Lutfi, 40, 2018. Acrylic, oil pastels, collage on paper, 16 x 14 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the artist

Youssef Nabil’s work was first shown in an exhibition entitled I Will Go to Paradise, which encapsulated loose references to selected moments from the artist’s life. Cinematic in its compositions and allusions to narrative, the work displays Youssef’s signature re-appropriation of the hand colouring technique of black and white photographs.

Youssef Nabil, The End New York, 2007. Hand coloured gelatin silver prin, 26 x 39 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the artist

Iterations of works presented in her 2018 solo exhibition at the Sharjah Art Foundation, Zineb Sedira’s copper plate sheets are engraved with jokes gathered from the artist’s personal archives of publications illustrating the tumultuous period of 1990s Algeria. Part of her Laughter in Hell series, they present dark humour as a form of resistance to tragic times.

Zineb Sedira, 80 x 61 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the artist

Hayv Kahraman’s Smart Card belongs to a body of work that narrates the violence of sound and the sonic trauma connected to her past—and that of many others—as an Iraqi immigrant. Originally used during the Iraq war, the cheat-sheet provided visually aided tools to military personnel for dealing quickly with situations most commonly expected to arise, as well as a communication tool between them and non-English speaking Iraqis.