The Third Line at Frieze London

The booth presented the themes of Science, Cosmos and Futurism with various interpretations in the practices of artists from the Middle Eastern region and diaspora. The works included concepts of sci-fi, space, imagined future timelines as well as sharp, ultramodern usage of the medium. The featured artists invited us to suspend our belief as they presented a variety of alternate realities, histories or futures in an attempt to re-create or rediscover their current reality. Dealing with space, cosmos, architecture and landscape they explored the futuristic possibilities involved in living in an age of profound and unparalleled landscape change.

Sophia Al Maria

Sophia Al Maria coins the term Gulf Futurism that covers the rapid explosion of urban expansion, construction, futuristic plans, and over-hyped consumerism in the gulf nations. Her primary interests regards the isolation of individuals via technology and reactionary Islam, the corrosive elements of consumerism and industry and the erasure of history through the blinding approach of a future none of us is ready for. Sophia is an artist, filmmaker and writer and one of the newest artists that have been added to The Third Line roster.

Sophia Al Maria / Bint Schrodinger (Schrodinger's Girl), 2013, Video Installation on 3 cuboglass TV / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Sophia Al Maria / Bint Schrodinger (Schrodinger's Girl), 2013, Video Installation on 3 cuboglass TV / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Rana Begum

Rana Begum works with metal sculptures coated with vibrant colours that push the relationship between colour, form and three-dimensional space. Taking inspiration from urban order and disorder, Rana creates surfaces and planes that are luscious and seductive. Rana has an established practice of working with minimalist aesthetic and urban physiognomies – each work demanding a level of interaction to be able to experience its entirety. Her practice explores how the slightest shifts in colour, shape, movement, and viewing angle can create complex and beautiful new alignments.

Rana Begum / No.461, 2013, Paint on mirror finish stainless steel, 56x58x24 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Rana Begum / No.461, 2013, Paint on mirror finish stainless steel, 56x58x24 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Ala Ebtekar

Ala Ebtekar has continually returned to his initial passion of drawing and painting and works with meticulous detail on pieces that inhabit a realm where the past and present collide in a perpetual dance of deconstructed and reconstructed time and space. He also continues to work with found materials, especially manuscripts. His works in the booth include collages where he has painted upon original first edition book pages of Robert Heinlein's Tunnel in the Sky novel, a sci-fi classic from the 50's.

Ala Ebtekar / The Shape of Things to Come,2012,Acrylic on archival pigment print on found poster,104.1x68.5 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Ala Ebtekar / Tunnel in the Sky 3, 2012, Collage cut mat over monoprint on found book page, 61.6x48.3 cm - Detail / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige

Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige continue their on-going research on The Lebanese Rocket Society, documenting significant space-age moments that took place in Lebanese history between 1960 to 1967. Joana and Khalil’s work aims to fight the oblivion in which the original space rocket project sank, even though it had been a recipient of great national pride and celebration in its initial years. The new body of work looks at how most of the photographers and cameramen who attended the launching of the rockets missed (nearly systematically) the decisive moment, the taking off. To the photographer’s immense frustration, all they managed to get was the smoke in the path of the rocket – which, the artists insist, actually focus more on the beauty of the image and the way it recreates that moment.

Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige / Dust in the wind (Cedar II)_2013, Print on diasec, Plexiglas sculpture, 75x100x3 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige / Dust in the wind (Cedar IV), 2013, Print on diasec, Plexiglas sculpture, 75x100x3 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian employs a vernacular visual language through the use of Iranian mirror mosaics as medium that communicates with the viewer stories of cosmic reflection. With the detailed intricacies of the cut mirror and her acute sense of modern aesthetics, Monir creates three-dimensional sculptures that challenge the basis of contemporary compositions. In the work exhibited, Monir creates a geometrical formation resulting in a number of cosmic variations. The negative space created within this formation further manifests other geometric shapes thus creating yet another layer to the work through careful and precise placement.

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian / Seven, 2012, Mirror mosaic, reverse glass painting, traditional glue and plaster on wood, 90x40x10 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian / Seven, 2012, Mirror mosaic, reverse glass painting, traditional glue and plaster on wood, 90x40x10 cm - Detail / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist