Venice biennale

003

BETWEEN NORTH & SOUTH, OTHERNESS! PAD10

Reporting From The Front / Venice Biennale 2016 Between East and West, a Gulf / Kuwait Pavilion

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Temporal Statelessness The Project, shared between two islands, spans the extremities of the Gulf. Imprinted planometrically in the grounds of Failaka, akin to its archeological ruins, and carved sectionally from the fjords around Maqlab, the Project suspends its program from site specificity to claim temporal sitelessness; it operates across anomalies in pursuit of dismantling preset gulfs and unmasking otherness.

Programmatically, the Project hosts a library and a museum to give two different readings of the region on and of the same with simultaneity and juxtaposition; part permanent part temporal, part site specific part siteless, the Project becomes a counter-site to the mainland(s); “a flooating piece of space, a place without a place, that exists by itself, that is closed in on itself and at the same time is given over to the infinity of the sea... the greatest reserve of the imagination.”1 The library’s main objective is to catalogue the customs and traditions of the people of the region, trespassing delineations of ‘nation states’. The colonially drawn borders erase many other iterations of geographic, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic classifications, leading

Temporal Statelessness to suppressions of multiple expressions PAD that 10 undermine divisive narratives. Principal Architect: Naji Moujaes.

Team: Alaa Sheet, Habib Bitar.

The library surfaces repressed desires, allowing The Project, shared between two islands, spans the extremitiesto of the Gulf.

Imprinted planometrically all taxonomies be vocalized in an openin the grounds of Failaka, akin to its archeological ruins, carved sectionallyand from the aroundone Maqlab, catalogueand underground a fjords closed the Project suspends its program from site specificito claim temporal it operates across archived tyremotely in the sitelessness; fjords. anomalies in pursuit of dismantling preset gulfs and unmasking otherness.

The museum, curated and formed by a trip that never was, traverses programmatically across Programmatically, the Project hosts a library and a museum to give two different readings of the region on the extremities ofsame the with Gulf,simultaneity betweenand thejuxtaposition; islands and of the part permanent part temporal, part site specific part of Failakasiteless, and the Maqlab, spanning a historyto the of Project becomes a counter-site mainland(s); “a floating piece of space, a place without more than 6000 years. a place, that exists by itself, that is closed in on itself at the same time is given over to the infinity of the Failaka, and being on the lookout inland at sea... the greatest reserve of the imagination.” main objective is to cataloguewhere the custhe tip The of library’s the Tigris and Euphrates, toms and traditions of the people of the region, trespassingspanned delineationsback of ‘nation The colonially Mesopotamia to states’.

5000BC, and drawn borders erase many other iterations of geographic, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic classifi cations, Maqlab, being at the other tip of the bend, where leading to suppressions of multiple expressions that the British Empiredivisive had narratives. a telegraphic repeater undermine The library surfaces repressed desires, allowing all taxonomies to be vocalstation until mid 19thcatalogue Century, tying its and Empire ized in an open underground a closed one archived remotely in the fjords. from the Gulf to India. Enroute, it is crissmuseum, curated and formed by a trip that never crossed The laterally at programmatically two points toacross extend the was, traverses the extremities of the Gulf, between the islands of Failaka and museum’s internal program to external localized Maqlab, spanning a history of more than 6000 years.

Failaka,rendering being on the its lookout inland at the tip site of the archeologies, placelessness Tigris and Euphrates, where Mesopotamia spanned to 5000BC, Maqlab, being at the other tip of specific back at times.

Theand museum of civilizations the bend, where the British Empire had a telegraphic repeater station until mid 19th Century, its Emspans from archeological findings totying postpire from the Gulf to India. Enroute, it is criss-crossed at two points to extend the museum’s internal colonial laterally readings.

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program to external localized archeologies, rendering its placelessness site specific at times. The museum of civilizations spans from archeological findings to 1 Of Other Spaces: Utopiasreadings. and Heterotopias, Michel Foucault. post-colonial 1

Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias, Michel Foucault.

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> Archeological findings go back to the Bronze Age, Dilmun culture of the 3rd2-nd millennium BC. During the Bronze Age the Temple of the God Inzak, tutelary God of Dilmun, existed on Failaka as is mentioned through the Cuneiform and Proto-Aramaic inscriptions on vessel fragments, Dilmun stamp seals, and excavated slabs.

Archeological excavations revealed buildings interpreted as a tower temple and palace. > Named Ikarus by the Greeks, the Hellenistic settlement included a large Hellenistic fort and two Greek temples during the 3rd and 1st centuries BC. > A Christian community flourished on Failaka from the 5th century until the 9th century. Excavations have revealed several farms, villages and two large churches dating from the 5th and 6th century.

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> Center of Dilmun Kingdom.

Archeological findings indicate inhabitation since 5,000BC. > Name referenced to Ashtaroot, the Goddess of war and love, as believed by the Babylonians, the Canaanites, and the Phoenicians. > Home to Dilmun, Akkadian, Assyrians, and Persian civilizations.

Later, it was occupied by the Persian Empire and the Islamic Empire. More recently, it was colonized by the Portuguese where a fort stands witness to this period.

Tarout Island

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Bahrain Island > The three Barbar Temples were located in what is now an archeological site in the village of Barbar, Bahrain. As part of the Dilmun civilization, the temples were built atop one another throughout a period of 1,000 years from 3,000BC to 2,000 BC. It is thought that the temples were constructed to worship the God Enki, the God of wisdom and freshwater, and his wife Nankhur Sak (Ninhursag). The temple contains two altars and a natural water spring. > Diraz Temple dates back to the Dilmun era, circa 3rd millennium BC, based on the recovered artifacts. > Fort of Bahrain, previously known as the Portugal Fort (Qal'at al Portugal). Archaeological excavations carried out since 1954 have unearthed antiquities from 2300 BC up to the 18th century, including Kassites, Portuguese and Persians. It was once the capital of the Dilmun civilization and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

> Home to Arabia's largest wildlife reserve, spanning over 87 km2 (34 sq miles) with thousands of large free-roaming animals and several million trees and plants. > A bird sanctuary as well as a wildlife reserve.

Kharg Island

> Listed as one of the Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) > It is considered to be rich in wildlife, with a great number of wild birds including eagles, parrots, white-eared bulbul, hoopoe, bee-eaters, laughing dove, and yellow wagtails.

> Interpreted as a monastic community, the Kharg complex is the largest single document of Christian archaeology in the Persian Gulf region; the large enclosure (96 x 85 m), complete with a library, refectory, monks’ cells, and church. Some believe it to be Nestorian, while others Monophysite.

> The Portuguese conqueror, Afonso de Albuquerque, captured the island in 1507 at which time it became a part of the Portuguese Empire. The Portuguese constructed a fortress on the island - the Fort of Our Lady of the Conception. In 1622 the island was captured from the Portuguese by a Hormuz Island combined Anglo-Persian force.

Faror Island

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Qeshm Island

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Sir bani Yas Island

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> On account of its strategic geopolitical situation, it has frequently been attacked by invaders including Ilamids (Elamites), Umayyads, Abbasids as well as the Portuguese, following which Alfonso de Albuquerque built a fortress. > According to historical records, Qeshm Island became famous as a trade and navigation center, as trade vessels sailed from Qeshm Island to China, India and Africa. > In 2006, it was registered by the Global Network of Geoparks (GGN) in Paris as a geopark due to its abundant natural resources and exceptional geology.

Maqlab Island

> In the 19th century, it was the location of a British repeater station used to boost telegraphic messages along the Arabian Gulf submarine cable, which was part of the London to Karachi telegraphic cable; it tied the British Empire from the Indian Ocean inland to the Arabian Peninsula.

Program

800 m

700 m

600 m

500 m

400 m

300 m

200 m

100 m

Eiffel Tower (Paris)

Empire State (New York)

Petronas Towers (Kuala Lumpur)

PROJECT

Seawise Giant

Sears Tower (Chicago)

Taipei 101 (Taipei)

Burj Dubai (Dubai)

The Project emulates in size that of Seawise Giant, later Happy Giant, Jahre Viking, Knock Nevis, Oppama, and finally Mont; she was the longest ship ever built, associated all through her life with the Gulf region. She was incapable of navigating the English Channel, the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal. She was sunk during the Iran–Iraq War, but was later salvaged and restored to service. She was last used as a floating storage and offloading unit (FSO) moored off the coast of Qatar in the Persian Gulf at the Al Shaheen Oil Field.

With a length overall of 458.45 m (1,504.1 ft) and a draft of 24.611 m (80.74 ft), Seawise Giant was damaged and sunk during the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War by an Iraqi Air Force attack while anchored off Larak Island on 14 May 1988 and carrying Iranian crude oil. The ship was struck by parachute bombs.

Fires ignited aboard the ship and blazed out of control, and she sank in the shallow waters off the coast of Larak Island, Iran. She was declared a total loss and was laid up.

Shortly after the Iran-Iraq war ended, Norman International bought the wreckage of the ship and raised her and repaired her. These repairs were done at a shipyard in Singapore after towing her from the Persian Gulf. She re-entered service in October 1991 as Happy Giant.

In 1991, she was bought and renamed Jahre Viking. From 1991 to 2004, she flew the Norwegian flag.

In 2004, she was purchased and renamed Knock Nevis. She was converted into a permanently moored storage tanker in the Qatar Al Shaheen oil field in the Persian Gulf.

In 2009, she was sold to Indian ship breakers, and renamed Mont for her final journey in December 2009. Her 36-ton anchor was saved and sent to the Hong Kong Maritime Museum for exhibition.

UNDER THE COLONIALIST GAZE Between North and South, Otherness Two islands, namely Failaka and Maqlab - at the northern and southern tips of the Gulf – served at different instances as outposts for control and ultimately as conduits for propagating divisive politics among indigenous people. With a span of more than 5000 years, documented through fragments of archaeologies, archived and narrated in museum format, the Project goes on a fictitious trip to serve as a lens to look back at these civilizations and offer different readings that may mend the “gulf” in between East and

Kuwait City Sharq, 28 Jaber Al-Mubarak Street, Khaleejia Tower, 9th floor T.+965 222 85 900 F.+965 222 85 901

Beirut Mar Mikhayel District Nahr Street Il Risveglio Bldg, 7th Floor T. +961 1 44 55 39 www.pad10.com