Selections # 28

• IN CONVERSATION WITH NADIM KARAM • GUGGENHEIM’S REFLECTIONS ON INFINITY • BOKJA GOOD THINGS • • LULU AL SABAH AND THE CHAMPIONS CONTEMPORARY ART • IN THE LIBRARY WITH ETEL ADNAN • THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT • • LJUBLJANA DESIGN BIENNIAL • SPECIAL SECTION CURATED BY LEILA HELLER •

ISSUE # 28 | WINTER 2014-2015

ARTS / STYLE / CULTURE FROM THE ARAB WORLD AND BEYOND

ROSE TINTED ISSUE

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R E A D Y TO W E A R FA L L W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 -2 0 1 5

EDITOR’S LETTER

ROSE TINTED ISSUE

For the past few months

The beautiful Zena el Khalil

I have been globetrotting

talks to Selections about her

between art shows and

constant search to investi-

gallery openings, meeting

gate light, the exploration

beautiful people along the

of her own history, land and

way. It really has been a

ancestry, and her brilliant

wonderful and eventful year.

new exhibition in Turin. We

As I write, I’m sitting in my

also feature an honest chat

hotel room in Dubai thinking

with Lulu Al Sabah and gath-

of how much I have to share

er her insights of art in the

with our Selections followers

Middle East. MC Didero re-

and supporters.

ports from Ljubljana Design Biennial, while Anja Stafford

As the year ends we have

reports on the Guggenheim

a new beginning. We have

lighting up Manarat al Saadi-

finally established our office,

yat in anticipation of its Abu

and a serious presence, in

Dhabi opening in 2017.

Dubai, which we at the Selections family are all excit-

Leila Heller shares her in-

ed about. For our Emirates

spirations with us and her

readers, please download our app for tablets, as well

connection with art, curating for eight of her favourite

as join the Selections social media network. We would

pieces of art for Selections. As she says, for the curat-

love to hear your comments and get your feedback.

ed section she chose works by artists “who are in conversation with notions of spirituality and the infinite”.

This issue is all about hope and positivity, with the famous artist and architect Nadim Karam touching the

Last but by no means least, Selections sat down for a

clouds and creating beautiful cities filled with joy and

talk with poet, essayist, and artist Etel Adnan at Frieze

play. His immersive thoughts made our cover, with all

London. She spoke of the literature that has influenced

the beauty of his imagination around it.

her and the books that she lives with.

Wishing you all a ‘Rose Tinted’ year ahead.

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CONTRIBUTORS

Avril Groom is a highly-respected fashion and luxury journalist who writes for the FT How To Spend It magazine among many other publications. Bringing her expertise from the world of watches and jewellery to this issue, she reports from Paris Haute Couture Week on Boucheron’s new collection, where she interviewed the house’s creative director at the Place Vendôme flagship store.

Sheyma Buali is an independent London-based writer and researcher.

She is culture correspondent for Asharq Al Awsat, editorial correspondent for Ibraaz and a regular contributor to numerous other publications. Her writing has also appeared in edited volumes and exhibition catalogues covering topics ranging from historical archiving to cinema, political arts and Gulf urbanism. Previously, she worked for 10 years in TV, film and documentary production in Boston, Los Angeles and her native Bahrain.

Jad Sylla is an architect and photographer. He has lived and worked in Beirut, Melbourne and London. His architectural background and travels continue to inform his photography and his work has been shown in group and solo exhibitions in Melbourne and London. He reviews for us one of the most distinguished projects of Frank Gehry’s career so far, the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris.

Maria Cristina Didero is an independent design curator and journalist contributing to Domus, Vogue Casa, Flair, Loft, and Apartamento. She has been in charge of the Vitra Design Museum for Italy for more than 10 years and sits on the board of Veritas auction house in Lisbon, is a patron of Design Days Dubai, and curates Design Talks for Miart Milan. She has been Director of Fondazione Bisazza since 2011.

Rajesh Punj is a London-based art critic, correspondent and curator, with a specialist interest in Asia. He has previously written for international art publications including Flash Art International in Milan, Deutsche Bank Art Mag in Berlin, and Elephant in London, among others.

Arie AmayaAkkermans is a writer and art critic based in Beirut.

His writing has appeared in Canvas, Artsy, Hyperallergic and RES Art World.

Formerly assistant curator at Albareh Art Gallery in Bahrain, his current research concerns visual culture in Turkey and Lebanon, aesthetics of technology, and representations of political violence.

Kasia Maciejowska is a London-based writer and editor who spent a year with us in Beirut editing Selections and the Art Paper.

She has an MA in Design History & Material Culture from the Royal College of Art/V&A Museum, and a BA in English Literature from the University of Oxford.

Her regular subjects are the visual arts, interior design, and contemporary culture. She has previously written for The Times and Ibraaz among others.

India Stoughton graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an MA in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies. During her course she spent a semester studying in Damascus, where she developed a deep interest in Syrian, Lebanese and Iraqi art and culture. Having travelled extensively in the Middle East, spending time in Morocco, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Qatar, as well as Syria, she is currently based in Lebanon, where she works as an art and culture reporter.

Anya Stafford is a writer and educator living in the UAE. Currently a tutor on Goldsmith’s (University of London) Creative Computing degree, she has formerly been an online editor and writer on a range of projects for the likes of Google, Sony and Deezer. This work fuels her research, most recently on her accepted proposal to pursue a PhD in Trinity College Dublin, focusing on systems of art and the aesthetics of digital ecosystems.

12

CONTENTS

56 Nadim Karam, Stretching thoughts, drawing

EDITORIAL MASTHEAD

56

A CITY’S DREAMS MADE FLESH

66

POP STRIKE

72

A CATALYST OF MODERNITY

76

THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT

84

CHAMPIONING CONTEMPORARY ART

88

NARRATING THE SILENCE

92

THE POSTER REVOLUTION

96

‘IT HAD TO BE A GRAND PALAIS…’

102

CONTEMPORARY DEVOTION

104

DESIGN AS A FORM OF ENQUIRY

110

MUTATING FORMS

14

Editor-in-Chief Rima Nasser Editor Iain Akerman Responsible Editor Fatma Koteich Designer Genia Kodash Pictures Editor Rowina Bou Harb In-house Illustrator Yasmina Nysten Contributing Writers Avril Groom, Sheyma Buali, Maria Cristina Didero, Rajesh Punj, Arie Amaya-Akkermans, Kasia Maciejowska, India Stoughton, Anya Stafford, Jad Sylla, Nadine Khalil Editorial enquiries info@citynewsme.com +961 (0) 1 383 978

CONTENTS

137

114

GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT

118

REFLECTIONS ON INFINITY

SALES & DISTRIBUTION

122

DORI HITTI’S

Commercial & Marketing Rawad J. Bou Malhab

WEIGHTLESS WONDERS 126

ALTERED IMAGES

128

AN ILLUSTRIOUS HERITAGE

132

COLLECTOR PROFILE: ELIE KHOURI

137

CURATED BY

154

BEIRUT AND THE PRISM OF POETRY

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156 160

IN THE LIBRARY WITH ETEL ADNAN A PEEK INTO THE DIARY OF NICHOLAS CHRISOSTOMOU

16

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The Power of Creation

CONTENTS

48

21

THE HOUSE ON THE HILL

39

THE TIGER OF MYSORE

22

FIVE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER

40

BUILDING HISTORIES AT MATHAF

23

LET THE MUSIC PLAY ON

42

AWAKE GIRL

24

AN ADMAN’S EYE, AN ARTIST’S MIND

44

BOTERO’S SENSUOUS

26

ART IN SEARCH OF UNDERSTANDING

28

ORGANIC ABSTRACTION

46

30

A QUESTION OF SPACE

48

32

39 STEPS

34

ECLECTIC AVENUE

36

REFLECTIONS ON ASPIRATION

50

RICH PROGRAMMING

AND TRAGEDY

52

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

38

18

A COMPELLING PLATFORM

COLOMBIA IN THE GULF STRENGTHENING TIES IN SINGAPORE

YOUNG, BUT GROWING IN STATURE

COMES OF AGE

Selections magazine now on iPad and Android tablets www.citynewspublishing.com

IN CONVERSATION WITH

A CITY’S DREAMS MADE FLESH

By India Stoughton

Lebanese artist and architect Nadim Karam takes Selections on a tour of his studio to learn more about his urban interventions

In an apartment behind the offices of Atelier Hapsi-

the globe. In his atelier, a team of young architects and

tus, Nadim Karam unlocks a metal cupboard to reveal

designers sit at a bank of computers, helping to trans-

three decades of inspiration. Sketchbooks dating from

form his ideas for sculptures from two into three di-

1985 to earlier this year are piled ten-deep on the

mensions. In his studio, however, Karam works alone.

shelves. Some are neat and carefully-finished, filled with watercolour paintings that look ready for an ex-

“Sculptures go through a whole process of 20 or

hibition. Others are chaotic, stuffed with loose sheets.

30 people working on them,” the artist explains.

Their pages are covered with the seeds of ideas con-

“Painting, no. It’s a private relationship between me

tained in half-finished sketches, as though the artist

and the canvas.”

was anxious to get everything down quickly, before the inspiration evaporated.

These books attest to the seemingly endless creativity of the Senegal-born, Beirut-based Lebanese artist.

An architect, fine artist and urban visionary, Karam has executed high-profile public art installations around

56

SCULPTURES GO THROUGH A WHOLE PROCESS OF 20 OR 30 PEOPLE WORKING ON THEM. PAINTING, NO. IT’S A PRIVATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ME AND THE CANVAS

58

IN CONVERSATION WITH

“Stretching Thoughts, standing” “Stretching Thoughts, seated” are both made of steel with a rusted finish. Their heights are respectively 4.85m and 3.52m.

As he speaks, Karam is putting the finishing touches to a black-and-white painting, a seated figure with a marbled swirl of paint around her head – it might be crystallised thoughts, billowing smoke or the intangible substance of a cloud.

Karam’s sketches transform into a nearconstant stream of paintings and sculptures. At the same time, he is working on a number of long-term, enormously ambitious projects set to transform city skylines across the globe. A refrain the artist often returns to is the question of whether or not a city can dream. He himself dreams up the kind of projects most people would probably dismiss as being too fantastical, and then finds ways to make them a reality.

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IN CONVERSATION WITH

One such project is The Cloud. “It’s a public platform in Dubai that will reach up to the sky,” Karam explains. “It comes in parallel to all those high rise buildings that are happening, where it’s private and exclusive. The cloud is public – that’s the most important part.”

The artist came up with the idea for a 100 by 200 metre platform, surrounded by a multifaceted glass structure, in 2007. The viewing area is designed to be located 250 metres from the ground on a series of pillars, slanted to look like falling rain. The logistics of building such an ambitious structure are mind-boggling, but Karam and his team are now in the process of making his designs viable, working with Arup engineering firm and Cultural Innovations, a cultural management firm in London.

IT KIND OF ECHOES WHAT DUBAI NEEDS NOW – A CLOUD SOMEWHERE.

Cloud project of Dubai

“In terms of vision I think it would bring something new to the region,” he reflects, “because it kind of echoes what Dubai needs now – a cloud somewhere. A cloud is also an idea – like the iCloud. So a cloud is somewhere where you can store things – you can store memories.”

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IN CONVERSATION WITH

At the same time, Karam is developing his idea for an

“Then we thought, ‘Okay, now we’ll transform the small

equally monumental project based around another of

elephant we’ve made into a big sculpture, higher than

his favourite motifs – the elephant. Designed for a va-

the pyramids’… You can ride [a roller-coaster] along the

cant plot of land in Lagos, the Elephant City, like many

back of the elephant, and in the elephant’s trunk you

of Karam’s projects, is at once art and architecture: a

have a waterfall. In the big eye of the elephant there’s

vertical city built in the shape of an elephant.

a giant Ferris wheel. Inside the body of the elephant is the structure of a city, so you have office buildings,

“We were asked to design something for this plot in

then you have residential buildings in the legs, you

Lagos,” he explains, “so we thought, ‘Okay, the best

have a hotel in the upper part and you have arts and

thing is to create a story for them’. So you have the

cultural projects in the centre.”

elephant going through all of Africa and picking up memories… everywhere it goes. This elephant remembers everything he has done.

Elephant City project

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IN CONVERSATION WITH XXX

Karam is also excited about a project dubbed The

Five of the wheels will be located in Olive Park, one

Wheels of Chicago. Inspired by the history of the Fer-

in the Navy Pier’s Gateway Park and a final one in the

ris wheel, which was invented by a Chicago native and

middle of Lake Michigan. Though they are inspired by

first exhibited at the city’s World Fair in 1893, he plans

Ferris wheels, they won’t serve as rides, but decora-

to build seven enormous metal wheels, turning above

tive sculptures.

circular ponds.

“Chicago is the windy city, so having them turn is also “There is such social diversity in Chicago, so we

part of having something that fits Chicago’s character,”

thought each wheel would represent a different as-

Karam explains. “We’re trying as much as possible to

pect of the city,” Karam says, explaining that they di-

design them to turn with the wind, but when there’s no

vided the city into seven themes: diversity, industry,

wind probably there will have to be a mechanism to

business, art, leisure, playground and nature. The idea

make them turn, using the energy generated by the

is to work with local artists in each area, he adds, to

rotation when there is wind.”

come up with a design for the wheel that best reflects the character of each sector.

Although Karam’s longer-term projects might take years yet to materialise, flicking through his renderings, blueprints and sketches provides a glimpse into

Wheels of Chicago project

a world where a city’s dreams can come true.

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ART

POP STRIKE

by Iain Akerman

Morocco-born artist Hassan Hajjaj has been using pop art to play with perceptions and stereotypes in the Arab world. Fresh from an appearance at Abu Dhabi Art Fair, he discusses his work and inspiration

There’s a solitary table and chair outside Hassan Haj-

“In Africa and other parts of the so-called Third World,

jaj’s studio in Shoreditch. The table – an upturned stop

people use crates as seats and I wanted to give them

sign from Morocco – and the chair – a series of flat-

more value,” says Hajjaj when we eventually sit down.

tened Senegalese soda cans nailed to wood – are

“Also, Coca-Cola is universal and you can communi-

both Hajjaj to a tee.

cate to anyone by playing with brand names. But I’ve been lucky that the West and Arab countries have ac-

The pop artist, photographer and designer has a habit

cepted this work as art.”

of repurposing objects of utility. He’s turned discarded Coca-Cola crates with Arabic script and advertising

We’re inside now, surrounded by a kaleidoscope of

signs into furniture, toyed with populist consumerist

colour and North African exuberance. Fabrics, textiles

culture, and used counterfeit, knock-off goods as a

and brands fill every inch of space, while Hajjaj him-

critique of society. No wonder the pavement outside

self is enveloped by the paraphernalia of the brand

his Calvert Avenue shop is home to such items.

obsessed contemporary culture that permeates his work. Various forms of everyday packaged consumer

It’s just gone 6pm and Jenny Fremont – a friend and

goods, their names sometimes written in both Arabic

muse to Hajjaj and an artist in her own right – has

and English, fill an intricate wall unit, while movie post-

been patiently talking to me for the past hour. There’s

ers, photographs, SuperLux tables, carpets and as-

a small cup of coffee and a half empty packet of Cut-

sorted handicrafts create the kind of chaotic curated

ter’s Choice on the table, and the light is beginning to

space that it’s easy to become captivated by.

fade in this relatively quiet corner of London. Inside, Hajjaj is talking in a strong London accent, belying his

At the far end of one room, a photograph of a veiled

Moroccan heritage but reinforcing his capital city pedi-

‘Kesh Angel’ dominates your field of vision, an old mo-

gree. We’re about an hour behind schedule, but it’s

bile phone raised to her right ear, while two Les Af-

Frieze Art Fair and the man’s in demand.

ricains posters hung side-by-side command another.

There are amusingly decked out mannequins spread around too, with the influencers of Hajjaj’s work there for all to see.

66

Joe Casely-Hayford, photograph by Hassan Hajjaj, Ed. of 5 2012/1433 Courtesy of The Third Line Gallery, Dubai, U.A.E.

67

ART

“The more you don’t want it, the more it happens.

Every now and then I would go and shoot and, with-

That’s what I’ve learnt. Even when I started showing

out realising, I would use all those elements that I had

my work it took three years I think before I had the

used before when running clubs and growing up in

confidence to use the word artist,” says Hajjaj, who

London. I’d say ‘Okay, I’m going to shoot with people’,

was born in Morocco in 1961 and moved to London

I’d find people; ‘I want to shoot in this kind of loca-

at an early age. “Because I didn’t go to art college,

tion’, I’d find the right spot; ‘the women are going to

because I didn’t train, and I came from a background

wear camouflage’, I’d buy the fabric, take it to the guy

of unemployment and the London club scene, I found

making the outfit, dress them up. It became natural. All

the title of artist a little bit uncomfortable. There was

the stuff I’ve done in the past, like running clubs, run-

also the feeling that maybe it’s just a moment, maybe

ning the shop and buying stuff for the shop; you have

it’s not going to be long term. I’d shot for maybe six

to put collections together to try and sell, and I didn’t

or seven years and never showed any work, so I had

have much money so you found a way of doing it. You

a big body of work, but I never thought it would be a

always found a way.”

long term thing.”

THE MORE YOU DON’T WANT IT, THE MORE IT HAPPENS. THAT’S WHAT I’VE LEARNT. EVEN WHEN I STARTED SHOWING MY WORK IT TOOK THREE YEARS I THINK BEFORE I HAD THE CONFIDENCE TO USE THE WORD ARTIST Hajjaj’s star, however, has been on the rise for years,

Much of his work features the fake logos of global

as his talk on the relationship between tradition and

brands such as Louis Vuitton and Nike, with individual

consumerism at Abu Dhabi Art Fair last month testifies.

pieces framed by consumer goods and adorned with

He has been regularly exhibiting across the US, Eu-

the trappings of popular culture. It is a way, he says,

rope, Africa and the Middle East and one of his most

to make people feel at ease, to tell stories, and chal-

successful bodies of work – a series of studio portraits

lenge stereotypes. He also “plays with and upends

called My Rock Stars: Volume 1 – had its premiere at

stereotypes, the power of branding, and the familiar-

The Third Line gallery in Dubai in 2012. What’s more,

ity of everyday objects”, as blurb for his ‘Kesh Angels’

he was shortlisted for the Victoria & Albert Museum’s

solo exhibition at the Taymour Grahne Gallery in New

Jameel Prize for Islamic Art in 2009 and his work is in

York stated earlier this year. In that body of work he

the collections of venues such as the Brooklyn Mu-

sought to toy with perceptions of Arabic culture and

seum in New York and the Institut des Cultures d’Islam

the relationship between East and West by photo-

in Paris. Not bad for a kid afraid to call himself an artist.

graphing traditionally clad but defiantly modern young women on motorbikes. The idea was to subvert pre-

“You know, I was unemployed for a few years and I

conceived notions of Arab women. In one image, the

started getting involved in the London scene in the

Nike logo adorns the veils of three women.

80s,” he says, discussing the roots of his art. “We started running clubs for example. It was about creating

“People seem to see it as the power of the brand

a space, DJs, putting bands on, promoting; so I was

and I’ve had loads of people introduce me as the

learning how to talk to people about production. Then

guy with Coca-Cola in his work,” he laughs. “But I’m

I bought a camera in 1989 and it was just a hobby.

like a magpie. That’s what’s around me, that’s what

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M., photograph by Hassan Hajjaj, Ed. of 7 2010/1431 Courtesy of Taymour Grahne Gallery, New York, U.S.A.

Miriam, photograph by Hassan Hajjaj, Ed. of 7 2010/1431 Courtesy of Rose Issa Projects, London, UK and Taymour Grahne Gallery, New York, U.S.A.

Gang of Marrakesh, photograph by Hassan Hajjaj, Ed. of 7 2000/1421 Courtesy of Rose Issa Projects, London, UK and Taymour Grahne Gallery, New York, U.S.A.

69

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ART

happened, that’s what came out of me. I’m

Seydou Keita, while his artistic versatility

coming from that lineage in the 80s where

has led him into installation, performance,

all these big brands were never really de-

fashion, interior design and now film.

signed for people like ourselves, so we’d go and buy the fabric and sew it into our

“I can afford to make mistakes and maybe

jean jacket – Gucci or anything like that.

I’m a little bit freer because I didn’t know

We were aspiring to be part of that world.

what direction I was going in,” he says. “My

And also by using counterfeit products

only downfall was that, technically, I’m not

I’m also presenting a layer of people like

the best. When you go and study you learn

myself, because, if I was still wearing all

technique, which is something I didn’t really

these labels, I would probably be wearing

have. But I’ve found that by having recogni-

counterfeit. There’s more meaning in us-

sable products on the textile or around the

ing counterfeit products.”

frame, it’s easier to bring people in and to engage with them. If I had a picture of some-

Sometimes playing with contrasts, cel-

body wearing a black dress, or black leather

ebrating colour, and fusing design with

with a black band, with a black frame, that

photography, Hajjaj admits he is constant-

would probably produce negative reac-

ly trying to find his space in the art world

tions. They’d think Isis and Iraq and their

and to find out who he is. Attracted to mar-

mind would go off in a certain direction. But

kets and cheap stuff – he had a store in

if the person in the photograph has some

Camden Market for seven years – his por-

bright colours – with Louis Vuitton and may-

traits also borrow from the tradition of Af-

be Coca-Cola – the viewer says ‘oh look,

rican studio photography and the work of

Louis Vuitton and Coca-Cola’ and you im-

photographers such as Malik Sidibe and

mediately bring them in. It’s still traditional, but you’ve got to bring them in a little bit.

This happened kind of accidentally, but I’ve learnt this is a good way – sadly enough it’s through brands – to communicate and to

Rider, photograph by Hassan Hajjaj, Ed. of 10 2010/1431 Courtesy of Rose Issa Projects, London, UK and Taymour Grahne Gallery, New York, U.S.A.

bring people into your work for a minute and to try and take them on a journey. You can then play with perceptions and stereotypes and say something.”

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ART

A CATALYST OF MODERNITY

At a time when Lebanon is revisiting its modern heritage, the work of sculptor Michel Basbous questions the expansion and spread of modernity in the country. Arie Amaya-Akkermans reports from a recent exhibition of his work at the Beirut Exhibition Center

When a major retrospective of a Lebanese artist opens

The retrospective exhibition at the Beirut Exhibition

in Beirut, there is little to wonder. The Lebanese ‘old

Center (curated by Saleh Barakat and Anachar Bas-

masters’ are few in number, well known, and deeply

bous), however, offered a more divergent selection

embedded in the local consciousness. Their works

of the Basbous estate, which has been traditionally

are signatures within old Lebanese houses and gov-

kept behind the walls of collectors and experts. Long

ernment institutions, and Michel Basbous (1921-1981) is

wooden silhouettes, totem sculptures and Phoenician

no exception.

figurines appear in meticulous but boundless lines, accompanied by early drawings and paintings. It is not

One of the most prominent sculptors in the country

difficult to see from the exhibition that not only was

throughout the 20th century, his work is a familiar

Basbous committed to experimentation, but that his

shape in public squares and official buildings in Leba-

work pioneered a theory of the line which, while still

non. It is not only the work that made him famous, but

anchored in figurative forms, departs from the neo-

also the unique gesture of decentralising art from the

classical sculpture of his generation.

Beirut elites and drawing it to his village of Rachana in the mountainous north, where his monumental sculptures became synonymous with the place. In the memory of Lebanese across generations, the weekend journey to Rachana is always associated with the work of Michel Basbous.

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Michel Basbous in his studio.

Beirut, c. 1955-1958.

Photo: Manoug

Untitled, c. 1968, stone, 360 x 70 x 52 cm, Photo: Manoug

ART

The Sun, 1970-1971 Stone, 186 x 97 x 65 cm, Hakone Open Air Museum, KanagawaPrefecture, Japan.

Three sculptures, late 1960’s, wood.

That an artist like Basbous speaks eloquently to the Lebanese public is a given, but an American journalist visiting the show remarked how there was an air of familiarity in the aesthetic. In her view, there is something in the shapes and contours of Basbous’ sculpture — an aesthetic that somehow dominates

He favoured expression over impression, articulating

the landscape of modernist architecture in Lebanon.

the principles of a ‘modern’ art. At a time when the

It makes us realise the extent to which Basbous and

Lebanese were busy nation-building, artists like Bas-

the artists of his generation were pioneers, not only as

bous and Saliba Douaihy (1915-1994), both of whom

artists, but as catalysts of a modernity that never fully

were instrumental in the early introduction of abstrac-

materialised. It lays in wait for better times, sometimes

tion, served as a paradigm for a kind of forward think-

hidden in a half demolished building, and sometimes

ing that was anchored in pre-classical antiquity and

in a marble sculpture, staring at us not from the past,

yet aesthetically innovative.

but from a distant future that is yet to arrive.

75

ART

THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT

by Iain Akerman

With her new exhibition in Turin, artist Zena el Khalil has abandoned the colour and exuberance of pop art for a darker and more personal exploration of her own history, land and ancestry

It’s early May in Beirut and Zena el Khalil is sitting

militiamen, the plastic flowers and the calling cards

across the table from me. A thin streak of red in her

of pop art that she once called her own. In is some-

long, dark hair, she is ordering mezze and sipping

thing else altogether. She has set fire to the white veils

drinks with a friend as they immerse themselves in

worn by Druze women, created ink from their ashes,

deep, contagious laughter. It is

and sought to delve deep into her

1.30am. We are in Hamra.

family’s past.

The Lebanese artist, writer and

“This exhibition is not very different

cultural activist has spent the day

to the work I was doing before,” she

cocooned in her studio, her hands

says of From Mirfaq to Vega, which

hinting at the blackened labours of

runs at the Giorgio Persano gallery

the day. Only now has she entered

in Turin, Italy, until 10 January. “The

into the world outside. Talkative and

same principles are there. The mo-

bubbly, she nevertheless divulges

tivation is the same. It’s just a differ-

little of what she has been doing.

Artist portrait, photo: Eva Zayat

ent perspective. I am on a constant search to investigate light. The light

Fast forward six months and the fruits of her labour

we all come from. The light we are all a part of. In this

are now there for all to see. Gone are the pink Ka-

particular case, I started from destruction.”

lashnikovs, the glitter, the photocopied images of

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Cosmic Collisions (det.), 2014 Indian ink, ashes, fabric and hair on canvas And in my heart, cosmic collisions 2,32 x 4,38 m

ART

IT WAS THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I WAS ABLE TO VISIT THE LAND OF MY ANCESTORS

“In order to reconcile and move forward, we have to understand and validate our past. This occupation happened and my grandfather died without ever being able to return to his home. These facts are true.

These stones and rocks are a physical connection to a story fading fast into the past. These relics are affirmations of a specific history that must be told.”

The destruction she refers to centres on the town of Hasbaya. It was there that her father’s home was

With installations, videos and large canvases, El Khalil

transformed into the main headquarters of the Israeli

has created a personal understanding of the tragedy

army after its invasion and subsequent occupation of

that is the Middle East. In relation to her previous work

south Lebanon in 1982. The rooms he grew up in were

within the realm of pop art, it is more a rebirth than an

converted into prisons, bedrooms became interroga-

awakening, with a single poem tying the show togeth-

tion chambers, and sniper bunkers circumnavigated

er. Present across the exhibition’s paintings, sculptures

the property. It took El Khalil and her family years to

and soundscape, the poem – Ya Dirati (My Home) – in-

reconcile with the subjugation of their personal space,

cludes the lines ‘My homeland, don’t blame us. The

but out of this reconciliation has emerged an artistic

blame is on those who betrayed you. We quenched

project that has at its core her own personal history,

the thirst of our swords with blood of our foes. Unlike

land and ancestry.

the traitors, we’ll never cheapen you for a price. Dear God, make me endure my misfortunes’.

“When the decision to pull out of Lebanon was announced, 22 years of Israeli occupation was dis-

“There are museums all over the world dedicated

mantled in a matter of 48 hours,” says El Khalil, a

to telling the stories of wars and tragedies,” says El

TED Fellow and author of Beirut, I Love You. “As

Khalil, whose work has been exhibited internation-

soon as they left, we drove down to see our home.

ally. “We don’t have such spaces in the Middle East,

It was the first time in my life I was able to visit the

nor anywhere in the world dedicated to telling the

land of my ancestors.

story of the contemporary Arab people and the wars we are enduring.

“Indications of their presence were apparent in our home. There were two things that stood out the most.

One was a long line of reinforced concrete blast, or ‘T’ walls, each one weighing close to two tonnes. These were lined up and used as a shield. The second was blue rocks. The path leading from the main entrance of the compound to our home was lined with rocks painted with the signature Israeli army blue colour.

I picked one up in May 2000 and saved it. Both of these objects are present in the exhibition today.

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top: Ya Dirati (det.), 2014 Indian ink, ashes, fabric and hair on canvas My homeland, don’t blame us | The blame is on those who betrayed you | We quenched the thirst of our swords with blood of our foes | Unlike the traitors, we’ll never cheapen you for a price.

2 x 4,40 m

bottom: Mantra, 2014 laser burn on wood, 140 boxes Ard | ‘Aard - Rahma | Ghufran ‘Aard | Ard - Rahma | Mawadda - Mawadda | Ghufran Land | Honor - Compassion | Forgiveness - Honor | Land - Compassion | Love - Love | Forgiveness 15 x 15 x 15 cm ea.

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Everything in the exhibition began with the concept of home. Homes that once were, homes that were lost, and the people who destroyed them. It’s because of the project’s personal nature that El Khalil needed the “I had to start somewhere. I started with myself, being

time and space to immersive herself completely in

the family archivist, to start building a database of our

the work. She also needed to spend time on location,

lives, histories and experiences. With my work, I have

with the paintings all made on site-specific locations,

included poetry that had been passed down to me

sometimes within the houses, sometimes outdoors,

through oral storytelling by my grandmother. I have

but always in a place where a great violence occurred.

included a story of an oak tree my father used to play in as a child. I have included my hair and nails. I have

“The first step in creating my materials to work with

used my body to paint with in site-specific locations

was to actually spend time in these abandoned hous-

where violence incurred on my family. By starting

es. I picked a house; one that was destroyed during

with the most personal,

the same period as my

maybe we have a real

mother’s, but was never

chance to share our

rebuilt. I spent time in this

stories and subsequent-

house, thinking about its

ly, a shift could happen

history. The people who

in the public eye. We

used to live there. The

could move from num-

emptiness the house felt

bers to people. From a

after they left.

war on resources, to the slow destruction of an

“What happens to a

entire culture.”

space when it is no longer

occupied?

What

El Khalil tells me a story of driving down to Hasbaya

happens to a home that was once witness to families

for the first time. It’s a story of her ancestors and Asma-

and love and arguments and births and children run-

han, a beautiful, iconic singer who died in mysterious

ning around and cooking and cleaning and cheating

circumstances at the end of the Second World War

and making love? What happens to a house that was

aged just 31. She tells me of Asmahan’s uncle, Zayd

once a witness, which absorbed and sheltered ener-

al Atrash, who along with El Khalil’s great grandfather,

gies? What happens when the energies leave? What

Fadlallah al Atrash, composed the poem mentioned

happens to an abandoned house that is no longer

above, and which Asmahan subsequently turned into

loved? How does it feel to witness the bombardment

a song. The very same song that her grandmother

of Beirut alone?

used to sing to her as a child. “It is not so much about the lyrics, but rather the ancestral heritage,” says El Khalil. “The Druze are a strong and prideful people of the mountains. For them, land and honour is an extremely important part of their cultural values.”

above: from Mirfaq to Vega, 2014 installation view

opposite page: Al Aql (det.), 2014 Indian ink, ashes, fabric and hair on canvas The size of your faith is the size of your intellect.

2 x 4,40 m

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ART

“The journey began with setting fire to the white veil worn by the women of my region. From the ashes, I created ink that investigates the absence of light.

Through paintings, drawings, video, sound and sculptural works, I question the unseen and the unknown.

The dark particles that constantly pass through us. The majority of what surrounds us, we cannot see. Today, like my mother and father, I do not have a home that exists from my childhood. Every home my grandfathers built was destroyed, bombed or occupied. What exists today are reconstructions, with some objects that somehow remained as witnesses to the violence around us.”

opposite page: Ya Dirati Tree 1, 2014 wood, plexiglass, motor and steel 3,50 x 2,50 m

above: A House in Aley, 2014 digital video and color photograph video still 5 min 29 sec

El Khalil tells me another story. It’s of an oak tree that her father used to play on as a child. During the

“Time passes quicker than we can ever imagine. I am

occupation, the Israeli army built a bunker next to it

desperately trying to archive stories that inform me

and after they left the challenge was to disassem-

of my heritage,” says El Khalil. “We have a tradition of

ble the concrete structure without destroying the

oral storytelling in this part of the world, as well as with

tree. For the exhibition she constructed three trees

my family. But these ‘hakawatis’ are leaving us, faster

where the branches are ‘Ya Dirati’. The branches

than I can paint, draw or write. I am now trying to put a

move in slow circles and light is projected onto

face to the names I grew up with. Trying to replace the

them. The shadows of the calligraphy fill the same

stone foundations of the homes my grandfathers built.

space, while the trees become prayer wheels, bath-

In order to move forward – in order to reconcile – we

ing viewers in light.

have to know our past.”

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ART

CHAMPIONING CONTEMPORARY ART

by Arie Amaya-Akkermans

One of the Middle East’s leading supporters of art, Lulu Al Sabah has run auctions, opened her own consultancy, and remains a dedicated art patron. Selections caught up with her at Beirut Art Fair

A woman at the forefront of contemporary art in the

AA: How visible is contemporary art in the region,

Middle East, Lulu Al Sabah was a regional pioneer with

particularly in the public domain?

auctioneers Christie’s and Phillips, opened her own

LS: I genuinely think that contemporary Iranian and

consultancy in Kuwait, then launched a commercial

Arab art will become part of the mainstream one day.

gallery in Dubai. The daughter of prominent collec-

It’s still a niche market, a small market, but I when I

tor Paula Al Sabah, she visited Beirut to participate in

went to Frieze the first time, there was maybe one

Beirut Art Fair, where she spoke to Selections about

event in London focused on Middle Eastern art. Now

contemporary art in the broader Middle East.

when you go to Frieze, not only do you have galleries from the Middle East in Frieze Art Fair, but also

Ari Akkermans: Do you think there is a market for

you have so many events happening regarding con-

art in the Middle East? Is it profitable?

temporary Middle Eastern art, and that’s something.

Lulu Al Sabah: I still feel that the collector pool is

So you do see growth, but this is something that’s

quite small and with the large number of galleries,

going to take time.

it’s tough, and the pool of collectors definitely needs to increase. The galleries that set up in Dubai a long

AA: Does all art from the region have to be political?

time ago have a larger market share than the galler-

LS: Think about Reza Derakshani, the Iranian artist.

ies set up more recently, because it’s a long game.

There was a time when lots of artists were doing very

You need to establish your name for a few years in

political art, and Reza was doing completely some-

order to get the good artists. So it’s not a profitable

thing else. He has beautiful works and he’s an ex-

business initially. You need to put money in and carry

ceptional artist, but his works are beautiful and not

on doing so before it becomes a profitable business,

political. But [at the same time] they are indeed very

that’s why many galleries fold and close after five or

political because the government doesn’t want to

six years.

see beauty. It’s very limited to pigeonhole contemporary Middle Eastern artists in such a fashion and I Reza Derakshani, Silver Fig, 2009, Mixed media on canvas, 200 x 180 cm

84

hope that with time the scope will widen to include a broader vision.

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86

AA: There is a perception that there was no art in the Gulf before the rise of Dubai. Can you tell us what was happening in the Gulf then?

LS: In the 1960s artists in Kuwait pushed the government to create a studio space, and government scholarships allowed people to study abroad. People went abroad because we have no art academies and that’s a problem that no one is addressing. But there was a lot of activity. In Dubai you also had some conceptual artists.

AA: Is the lack of art education and criticism hindering the growth of art in the Gulf?

LS: Totally. People do not understand the importance of art criticism and its role in developing an art market. We have art journalists but we really don’t have art critics. It’s very sad that some people have talent from a very young age, but without an education how can they develop? With the museums opening in Abu Dhabi, I think there must be an art academy opening in the region in the next five years.

AA: Can you tell us about some Kuwaiti artists that Mohammed AlKouh, Dome of the stars, Tomorrow’s Past series 2012 Hand colored gelatin silver print 40.6 x 50.8 cm All images Courtesy of the artist and JAMM Art Gallery

Mohammed Al-Kouh, Elhelalya Bulding, Tomorrow’s Past series 2012 Hand colored gelatin silver print 40.6 x 50.8 cm All images Courtesy of the artist and JAMM Art Gallery

Mohammed Al-Kouh, Alsawber, Tomorrow’s Past series 2012 Hand colored gelatin silver print 40.6 x 50.8 cm All images Courtesy of the artist and JAMM Art Gallery

Mohammed AlKouh, Al-Ahmadi Cinema, Tomorrow’s Past series 2012 Hand colored gelatin silver print 40.6 x 50.8 cm All images Courtesy of the artist and JAMM Art Gallery

Lulu Al Sabah

are worth looking into at the moment?

LS: From the older generation, Sami Mohammed is the artist who is most known internationally. He’s been at auctions, shown internationally and his work was shown in Venice at the Kuwaiti pavilion. From the younger generation, Mohamed Kouh, who loved the technique of painting on photography but he taught himself and now he’s producing work in this technique.

AA: What do you see in the future for art from the Arab world over the next decade?

LS: I hope it will become a more selective process, so that not everybody can call himself an artist. Es-

Mohammed AlKouh, The Water Towers, Tomorrow’s Past series 2012 Hand colored gelatin silver print 40.6 x 50.8 cm All images Courtesy of the artist and JAMM Art Gallery

Mohammed Al-Kouh, The End, Tomorrow’s Past series 2012 Hand colored gelatin silver print 40.6 x 50.8 cm All images Courtesy of the artist and JAMM Art Gallery

sentially, I think in the next 10 years there will be a natural growth from a niche market to a more mature market, and some artists might disappear, and others will move to the fore. Hopefully we will have a better art infrastructure and an art academy.

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ART

NARRATING THE SILENCE

by Arie Amaya-Akkermans

The late Iranian artist Farideh Lashai evoked Persian history and a collective sense of human nostalgia. Following a presentation of her work at Beirut Art Fair, Selections looks at how her work remained anchored in the aesthetics and struggles of the East

Storytelling has been traditionally associated in the

Following her death Lashai’s video work was shown

the Arab world, Persia and India, not only with the

at posthumous exhibitions in New York last year,

imagination, but also with tragedy. An aspiration

while JAMM Art presented works by the artist at this

populated with dense archetypal metaphors and

year’s Beirut Art Fair. Her video pieces, in their rhyth-

oblique symbols, narration is often the symptom of

mic and seamless continuity between painting, the

a collective malaise: these lands have always been

moving image, sound and narration, belonged to a

oppressive and there is no place for freedom of ex-

tradition of Iranian visual storytelling that used cloth

pression. Artists, therefore, were and are the loud-

or canvas hung in a square or on the walls of a coffee

speakers of society.

house to tell the events of a story through painting.

These paintings, made in the tradition of Iranian min-

The work of the late Farideh Lashai, who died in 2013,

iatures but using lighter European materials, began

belongs to this tradition, particularly the work she pro-

to develop early in the 20th century as an attempt to

duced in the last 10 years of her life when she be-

distance art from the royal courts and to bring it into

gan experimenting with the projection of stop motion

contact with the people.

animations onto her paintings. While this type of video work was contemporary, it remained firmly anchored in the aesthetics and struggles of the East.

88

Dear, Dear, How Queer Everything is Today, 2010 Painting with projected animation and sound oil, acrylic and graphite on canvas Canvas size 78.75 x 39.5 in 200 x 100 cm

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ART

Of her work, the ‘Rabbit in Wonderland’ series drew inspiration from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, a story about loss of innocence and absurdity. As the rabbit hole was a territory of puzzles and riddles, this world of mystery and doubt was the perfect setting for the history of Iran. In I Come from the Land of Ideology (2010-2012),

sion a future common world. As an art-

the idyllic dreamland of the rabbit hole

ist, she shared with the historian and the

is circumscribed by a background of ex-

philosopher a commitment that goes

ile and confusion; the meeting between

beyond the production of images; it is

the raven and the rabbit later disap-

the promise of a narrated life. In this in-

pearing altogether, leaving the dream-

verted odyssey, where bodies are never

land desolate. The magic of Lashai is

at rest, the female naghali (storyteller)

always theatrical, like her engagement

Lashai stood across the wall painting of

with Bertolt Brecht, staging elaborate

the Chehel Sotoun palace, singing to the

plays among fellow inmates while in

audience of The Mad Majlis (2012-2013)

prison for her activism. As a magician,

a tale of love and darkness.

the artist deals with illusion, with the illusion and disillusion of ideology.

In the last two years of her life, as turbulent winds of change swept throughout

That Lashai would enter video art and

the Middle East, Lashai turned to Goya's

filmmaking towards the end, poses many

Disasters of War (1810-1820), recreating

insoluble questions about the direction

80 of the etchings, removing all traces of

of her work at the time, but also reveals

the actors, leaving an empty scenario of

an intense need to overcome silence,

war to be filled with new shadows. Per-

solipsism and madness; to recover the

haps the sign of things to come for us?

world as the site of both experience and history, owning up to its tragic past

Yet, as the region remains engulfed by

as our own, in order to be able to envi-

embattled ravens and ideologies, the sceptical artist reminds the spectator

opposite page: El Amal, 2011-2012 Painting with projected animation and sound oil, acrylic and graphite on canvas Canvas size: 71 x 71 in / 180 x 180 cm

Gone Down the Rabbit Hole, 2010-2012 Painting with projected animation and sound; oil, acrylic and graphite on canvas Canvas size: 92.5 x 78.75 / 235 x 200 cm

– and in this theatre of puppets there are only spectators, as Brecht noted – of the dangers and illusions of dreams.

There is always dream and reality in a story; there is sometimes grace and sometimes fall. Let us then be engulfed by this world, and try to make sense of its brutal facts.

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ART

THE POSTER REVOLUTION

by Iain Akerman

The power of the poster as an art form in the Palestinian Revolution could soon be officially recognised by UNESCO. But how important would such a move be?

Earlier this year an exhibition in London showcased

“The very survival of the Palestine poster is an almost

the humble poster as a revolutionary medium.

exact parallel for the telling of the story of the survival of the Palestinian people,” says Dan Walsh, founder

Curated by the London-based Palestine Film Founda-

of the PPPA. “Both have been attacked, dispersed,

tion, The World Is With Us drew on the Palestine Poster

denied legitimacy, ignored and misunderstood. The

Project Archives (PPPA) for much of its source material,

fact that the posters survived is a metaphor for the

and in doing so not only showcased a global com-

resistance, determination and fighting spirit of the

munity of artists dedicated to the Palestinian cause,

Palestinian people.

but also proved the effectiveness of the poster as a medium of communication.

“The posters in the PPPA tell a story… the story of modern Palestine. Some of the features of the story told by

Amongst the artists featured were Lebanese paint-

the posters are unique in that the story is complete,

er Rafic Charaf, Palestinian refugees Ismail Sham-

honest, transparent, authentic and empirical. When

mout and Mustafa al-Hallaj, and Jordanian sculptor

looked at in toto the posters tell a story that is instantly

Mona Saudi.

recognisable by Palestinians because it is their version of their history.”

Shortly after the exhibition finished, the PPPA’s Liberation Graphics Collection was accepted for formal re-

Walsh believes the Palestine poster is unique in a

view by UNESCO’s ‘Memory of the World programme’,

number of significant ways. Namely, that it is the only

which inscribes library and archival holdings of “world

political poster tradition to transition from the 20th to

significance and outstanding universal value”. It is

the 21st century and from the street to the internet.

Palestine’s first ever successful submission, and if in-

The tradition has a growing digital footprint, with one

scribed the Palestine poster will take its place along

of the overall goals being to present the “diverse and

with the Gutenberg Bible, Anne Frank’s Diaries, the

profound networks of solidarity with Palestine” and to

Bayeux Tapestry and numerous other globally recog-

refute and reject all the negative stereotypes imposed

nised art treasures.

on the Palestinians by political Zionism.

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93 Ismail Shammout, Palestina — 1965 - 1977

ART

“Even though the Palestine poster as a genre has gone through periods of censorship, destruction, prohibition, confiscation, cancellations and a host of other challenges it may be the case that the majority of Palestine posters produced and published in the last 100 years may be recoverable,” says Walsh. “Such

So the UNESCO review is important?

an accomplishment might be seen as a metaphor for the determination and moral force of the Palestinian

“Of course,” says Walsh. “Because it honours the work

people and their revolution.”

of all the artists and publishers who have been telling the story of Palestine via the graphic arts for almost above left: Adnan Al-Sharif, Day of the Palestinian Martyr, 1979

one hundred years. The nomination is prestigious and is something Palestinians can and should be proud of.

The nomination, and by extension, the act of inscription, represents the world’s evaluation of the poster art

above right: Ismail Shammout Tel al-Zaatar Dignity In Grief 1976

94

of Palestine… it represents the world’s opinion that the genre is very special and deserving of preservation and wider awareness.”

ARCHITECTURE

‘IT HAD TO BE A GRAND PALAIS…’

by Jad Sylla

Frank Gehry’s latest signature project, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, has opened to the public and it’s like nothing he has ever built before

“How can a person imagine such a building?” asked

The choice of site for the future building was already

Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH (Moët

made: the Jardin d’Acclimatation, a children’s park in

Hennessy Louis Vuitton), the world’s largest luxury

Bois de Boulogne on the western edge of Paris. Aside

goods conglomerate, when visiting the Guggenheim

from LVMH owning the concession for the public park,

Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

Arnault also hoped his choice would free him of the constraints of building within Paris proper and having

Designed by the Canadian-American architect Frank

to face an immeasurable amount of regulations and

Gehry, he immediately knew that Gehry would be the

restrictions, especially when implementing the type of

architect capable of turning his vision into reality. For

modern architecture he had in mind.

in Arnault’s mind, the planned Fondation Louis Vuitton would not only be a contemporary art museum, but a “haute couture” building, befit of the Louis Vuitton brand and the city of Paris.

Arnault, himself an avid art collector, had already commissioned the Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima for the Dior building in Tokyo (completed in 2003), and the French Architect Christian de Portzamparc for the LVMH Tower in New York (completed in 1999). It was about time that Paris got its own landmark.

96

HOW CAN A PERSON IMAGINE SUCH A BUILDING?

RUBRIC

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RUBRIC

98

ARCHITECTURE

Thirteen years later, walking up the road in Bois de Boulogne, one cannot but stand in awe while contemplating these exquisitely detailed volumes of glass – “la Verrière” as Gehry likes to call them – hovering over a reflective surface of water, as if blown by some gusty winds. While reflecting the sky and the magnificent surrounding trees, they make the building look like a giant vessel about to take off on a journey around the world. No wonder tourists and residents taking a stroll amidst the lush greenery stop to admire a building that looks like nothing they

The building houses, along with a bookshop and a

have ever seen before.

restaurant, eleven galleries and a 350-seat auditorium facing an exquisite stepped waterfall. The ground floor

This only demonstrates how the 85-year-old Pritzker

is designed to facilitate social interaction, with its trans-

Prize-winning architect continues to push the bound-

parent lobby having the park as a natural extension.

aries of his genius and creativity.

Designed from the inside out, the white blocks (bapGehry, himself a Francophile, worked in Paris for a

tised ‘the icebergs’ by Gehry) that contain the gal-

year as an architect early in his career. His first project

leries are clad with Ductal panels, a fibre-reinforced

in Paris was the American centre, now Cinématheque

concrete material with a distinctively smooth finish. A

Française, which was completed in 1994. Today, he of-

total of 3,600 panels of St Gobain glass, all different,

fers the city of Paris a ‘tour de force’. The Fondation

were manufactured in Italy by means of custom made

Louis Vuitton is the most significant building Paris has

ovens. The monumental curved beams are made out

seen since the Centre Pompidou was completed by

of timber from the Black Forest in Germany and were

Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano.

manufactured in Austria. The pavement around the perimeter of the project is covered with stone from Bourgogne. Although not obvious to the viewer, this deliberate choice of sourcing the materials deeply roots the project in its region and context.

THIRTEEN YEARS LATER, WALKING UP THE ROAD IN BOIS DE BOULOGNE, ONE CANNOT BUT STAND IN AWE WHILE CONTEMPLATING THESE EXQUISITELY DETAILED VOLUMES OF GLASS – “LA VERRIÈRE” AS GEHRY LIKES TO CALL THEM

It is worth noting that the project boasts a large number of patents and its construction is an achievement that would not have been possible without the use of highly sophisticated software from Gehry Technology, a branch of Gehry’s studio.

With an estimated cost of $166 million, the building will become property of the city in 55 years’ time, which prompted the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, to call it “a gift for Paris”.

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RUBRIC ARCHITECTURE

TO MAKE A BUILDING IN THIS PARK, IT HAD TO BE KIND OF A GRAND PALAIS, A GLASS KIND OF THING

For anyone now visiting Paris, Gehry’s presence is not only felt in the Bois De Boulogne. The Centre Pompidou is showing a retrospective of his career until 26 January. It includes an unprecedented number of hand sketches, models, and screen projections, all offering an in-depth look into the master’s career.

During a recent interview, Gehry explained how he first imagined the project: “To make a building in this park, it had to be kind of a Grand Palais, a glass kind of thing.” And a Grand Palais it is.

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ARCHITECTURE

CONTEMPORARY DEVOTION

by Iain Akerman

Morocco has opened its first ever museum dedicated to contemporary art, with the very building that it inhabits, ironically, standing as the epitome of tradition

In the centre of Rabat, on the corners of Avenue Mou-

The inaugural exhibition, called 1914-2014: A Century

lay El Hassan and Avenue Allal Ben Abdallah, a new

of Creation, was developed as an evaluation of the

three-level building has risen. In form a celebration

development of visual arts in the country, beginning

of traditional architecture, in practice a celebration of

with key Moroccan artists such as Mohammed Ben Ali

art, the Mohammed VI Museum for

Rbati, the father of Moroccan paint-

Modern and Contemporary Art is

ing. Although Rbati had no formal

the first major museum to be built in

training, his talent came to the fore

Morocco since it gained indepen-

while working as a cook for the Irish

dence from France in 1956.

painter, Sir John Lavery.

Designed and conceived by archi-

Officially opened by King Moham-

tect Karim Chakor, it is the country’s

med VI in October, the museum’s

first museum devoted to contem-

role is to raise awareness of the

porary art, with the aim being to

arts, particularly amongst young

preserve and promote Morocco’s

people, and to promote participa-

artistic and cultural heritage. The

tion in the country’s cultural life. At

building’s aesthetics are steeped

the opening, the chairman of the

in tradition, its three floors hosting

National Foundation of Museums,

permanent and temporary exhibi-

Mehdi Qotbi, said that the project

tions, a conservation lab for art res-

revealed the king’s will for culture to

toration, art and multimedia libraries,

act as an “engine for human, social

as well as the work of artists such as Chaibia Talal,

and economic development”. He also highlighted the

Jilali Gherbaoui, Meryem Meziane, Ahmed Cherkaoui,

resolve of the king to equip the country with high-level

Farid Belkahya, Hassan Glaoui, André Elbaz and Mo-

cultural facilities that encourage creativity and promote

hamed kacimi.

the principles of cultural democratisation.

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DESIGN

DESIGN AS A FORM OF ENQUIRY

by MC Didero

Maria Cristina Didero reports for Selections from this year’s Ljubljana Design Biennial

The Ljubljana Design Biennial, one of the oldest

of the most visionary and knowledgeable thinkers on

events of its kind in Europe, has unveiled the results of

the international design scene. Boelen also serves as

the preliminary phase of 3, 2, 1...TEST, a six-month-long

director of the Belgian institution Z33 in Hasselt, is the

collaborative process seeking to shape the possible

director of the master in social design course at the

future of design.

Design Academy Eindhoven, and is the chairman of the Flemish Committee for Architecture and Design.

The incredibly well preserved capital city of Slovenia offered rich soil for experimentation and freedom of

This year – its 24th edition – BIO 50 undertook an am-

constructive imagination, with more than 120 design-

bitious transformation, focusing more on the process

ers applying to the open call with the hope of being

than on the final product and taking into consideration

selected for this major, choral adventure.

the potentiality of all design in everyday life. The event essentially moved away from the format of a tradition-

Divided into eleven groups, each of them was tasked

al industrial design exhibition to become a six-month

with investigating and tackling different macro-themes,

collaborative process and experimentation, which ex-

such as affordable living, knowing food, public water

ploded in innovative, sophisticated and site-related

public space, walking the city, hidden crafts, the fash-

projects that were simply but beautifully installed in dif-

ion system, hacking households, nanotourism, engine

ferent venues of the city.

blocks, observing space and designing life. The participants were led by international mentors such as the Austrian curator Tulga Beyerle, Rianne Makkink from Studio Makkink & Bey, chef Klemen Košir, the designer Aldo Bakker, and curator Judith Seng.

In late September we visited BIO 50 (as the Ljubljana event is called), and it clearly reflected the interdisciplinary approach of its 2014 director, Jan Boelen, one

104

top: Retrospective exhibition: The Biennial of (Industrial) Design over Fifty Years, curated by Cvetka Požar, 18. 9. – 7. 12.

2014, Jakopič Gallery, photo: Ana Kovač/MAO

bottom: Fashion System, BIO 50 exhibition display, photo: Ana Kovač/MAO

DESIGN

left: Retrospective exhibition: The Biennial of (Industrial) Design over Fifty Years, curated by Cvetka Požar, 18. 9. – 7. 12.

2014, Jakopič Gallery, photo: Ana Kovač/MAO

opposite page: Hidden Crafts, Liene Jakobsone, Pieces of soap, wrapped in a paper with the same print on it. photo: Liene Jakobsone

But, of course, there were also products on show. We appreciated, for example, the interesting panorama offered by the show titled The Biennial of (Industrial) Design over 50 Years at the Jakopič Gallery, curated

by Cvetka Požar, which celebrated notable objects that had not only been on display during previous Ljubljana Biennales, but are part of the history of design worldwide. Among other product design productions was the Floating Lamp by Slovenian-born Natasha Dot Musevic, which was especially conceived for the ‘hacking households’ team, led by mentors Tilen Sepič and Jesse Howard. With it’s minimal appeal, Musevic has proposed something simple, yet entirely new. The shape of a balloon, but without any cables, her lamp introduces a moon-like structure to the home and adds the feeling of lightness into the space surrounding it. Once connected to the internet, it can be switched on with any smartphone or via any internet connection, turning computers and laptops into remote controls.

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DESIGN

The 2014 edition revealed an innovative, almost holis-

and Silent Revolutions: Contemporary Design in Slo-

tic, approach to design. As seen in Slovenia, this disci-

venia – have titled the event’s catalogue Designing

pline is an inclusive field that has the potential to em-

the Everyday Life, a pretty straightforward statement

brace our entire life. It can be an engine for the future,

where, once again, we appreciate fresh thoughts that

a satisfying answer to practical needs, and an ongo-

provoke ways to analyse all that surrounds us. These

ing form of enquiry about the present. To strengthen

include different forms of dwellings (as in the nano-

this peculiar view of design being able to embrace

turism section), research into milk packaging, and an

human life, Boelen and co-curators Cvetka Požar – an

unusual investigation into eating rats.

art historian and curator at the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) in Ljubljana – and Maja Vardjan –

The group winner of the 2014 Best Collaboration

an architect by training and curator at both the MAO

Award was identified in nanoturism, for which the jury composed of designer and professor Saša J. Mächtig, superstar Konstatin Grcic and renowned design commentator Alice Rawsthorn, stated: “We were tremendously impressed by the quality, dynamism and originality of the projects in BIO 50, especially as they

Hidden Crafts, projects, BIO 50 exhibition display, photo: Ana Kovač/MAO

108

address so many important and contentious issues facing contemporary design. In an intensely turbulent

DESIGN

era when we face radical, potentially destructive changes on so many fronts, BIO 50 plays an indispensable role in suggesting possible solutions thanks to the diligence, determination and vision of his director and his gifted collaborators.” Other honourable mentions were received by the groups in designing life, engine blocks and fashion system.

WE WERE TREMENDOUSLY IMPRESSED BY THE QUALITY, DYNAMISM AND ORIGINALITY OF THE PROJECTS IN BIO 50, ESPECIALLY AS THEY ADDRESS SO MANY IMPORTANT AND CONTENTIOUS ISSUES FACING CONTEMPORARY DESIGN

left: Engine Blocks, BIO 50 exhibition display, photo: Ana Kovač/MAO

above: Hidden Crafts, projects, BIO 50 exhibition display, photo: Ana Kovač/MAO

The Ljubljana Design Biennial is an intriguing experiment made of multidisciplinary agents, all engaged in a large-scale collaborative effort to devise potential abilities and promises for design. The research of today will go on to build a new tomorrow.

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DESIGN

MUTATING FORMS

by Nadine Khalil

With her reconfigurations of previous work, Karen Chekerdjian’s objects have become much more than the sum of their parts. Her recent Trans | Form was an exhibition of the solid and the spectre, the real and the projected, the surface and the subtext

110

Stepping

into

Karen

Chekerdjian’s

exhibition

were welded.” In other words, it is as if she has flat-

Trans | Form is like entering a stop motion laboratory.

tened a 3-D model and the lines now represent where

The ‘stop’ part is right at the entrance, where in a

the folds of the object used to be.

freeze frame fashion, the designer has a mould of her studio table, replete with tools and prototypes, all cov-

You would think that this decomposition of her work

ered in a layer of white gauze and plaster. “We literally

would make the pieces too flat, or crushed as a result,

went to the pharmacy to buy the gauze,” Chekerdjian

but the mirrors add another dimension, reflecting the

says wryly. “Then I plastered the table that’s in my ate-

ceiling, the walls and the terrace of the Beirut Art Cen-

lier. I have all my tools here, so now I have to buy new

ter’s exhibition space. This is what Chekerdjian calls

ones,” she laughs softly. “The idea came from wearing

“random or arbitrary effects” and it relates to her ob-

a cast, like when you break an arm. I wanted to freeze

session with the gesture and the imprint, which brings

all the handwork we do in my studio.”

me to the ‘motion’ part. Her work carries movement, in dancing reflections,

You might know Chekerdjian from her furniture designs, which have an industrial aesthetic to them, yet often with a handcrafted finish. Several years after graduat-

I ALWAYS SAY THAT DESIGN IS NOT ABOUT CREATION BUT ABOUT TRANSFORMATION. YOU NEVER START FROM ZERO, IT’S A PROCESS AND THAT’S THE BEAUTY OF IT. YOU GO FROM ONE STAGE TO ANOTHER.

ing from Milan’s Domus

such as that of platform rainbow collection in this exhibition, made in different sizes and in stainless steel.

A smaller version of the rainbow was initially projected from her

Academy in product design, the Lebanese-Armenian

platform table, which emulated a cityscape in block

designer set up shop in Beirut’s burgeoning port dis-

fashion. Again, the table disappears and Chekerdjian

trict in 2010.

blows up the arch.

Even if you are familiar with her work, it will be chal-

Sleek and playful, the rainbow pieces now have the

lenging to recognise her reinterpretations of the limit-

look of an abandoned circus.

ed edition Object 03 vases from the 2006 Disappearance of Objects series, now re-named Trans-A, B, C &

“It’s true that I approached objects I have made be-

D. For one, they are more horizontal, like thick sheets

fore, and transformed them. I’m not creating some-

of metal, than vertical, and they look much more like

thing new here. It’s an evolution of something that ex-

side-tables or stools, than vases. That’s because they

ists since I was more interested in showing continuity,”

are deconstructions. “I compressed them to give them

Chekerdjian explains, with a thoughtful expression

more depth, so they are coming out of the floor like

beneath her black-rimmed glasses. “I always say that

extrusions,” Chekerdjian tells me. More interestingly

design is not about creation but about transformation.

is what she does with their surfaces, where some

You never start from zero, it’s a process and that’s the

are brushed, others oxidised or finished with mirrors,

beauty of it. You go from one stage to another. So for

which are cut into angular shapes. “Those lines aren’t

the rainbows, I added a luminous source to the bot-

decorative or aesthetic choices, they represent the

tom so it reacts with the geometry of this space. There

openings of the original vases, the places where they

are embedded copper wires to give the fluorescent

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DESIGN

Photos by Georges Zwein

Full rainbow, stainless steel and copper, diam. 250 cm

Trans A, stainless steel, 128x90 cm

Compared to all the metal and reflective surfaces, Karen’s Rock Formation table (based on the Terra Conti-

Trans D, stainless steel. 164.5x104 cm

Half rainmbow, stainless steel and copper, diam. 250 cm

nens model) is the earthiest one. Its surface is a crosssection of the roots of a mahogany tree and it looks like tectonic plates. “They are like a puzzle or platform of islands and the base is copper-plated brass in the

light a rosier glow,” she adds and, indeed, as you walk

form of organ pipes,” the designer says, proceeding

across the room, there’s the effect of streaming lights

to add that perhaps the structures that are closest

on the corner of your eye.

to their final form, are the two dividers (Confessional 1 & 2). Perforated screens, covered in opaque and

In other words, there’s no final product. “It’s a question

amorphous forms in certain parts, they curl inwards to

of time, since you have to stop at a certain point,” she

reveal hidden shelves. “Although the function isn’t a

continues. “So this is the finished object at this time.”

priority for me, it has to be there. I’m a designer, I have

This doesn’t mean the objects don’t have a precise

no right to say there’s no function. Perhaps I like my

form though, they are defined as such, in this moment.

pieces to be imprecise but precision is important, in

What her work articulates is the process of changing

how the different materials touch each other and the

the parameters.

balance of height, depth and volume.”

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designdaysdubai

designdaysdubai.ae

DESIGN

GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT

by Kasia Maciejowska

Created 14 years ago by Huda Baroudi and Maria Hibri, the duo’s shared love of furniture and fabrics led to the formation of Bokja. Selections caught up with the pair to discuss their work and Bokja’s Good Things collection

‘The eyes of our children’, ‘Nights in Vienna’, ‘Vegeta-

the last week of production. Having seen people’s

bles, flowers and champagne’, ‘My wife’s love’. So di-

contributions after they were added at the exhibition

verse and intimate were the messages people pinned

in an ad hoc fashion, the second incarnation – made

to the ‘Tree of Life’ wallhanging that Bokja exhibited at

for Beirut Design Week and exhibited at the brand’s

the Milan Salone del Mobile this year that the founding

flagship store in Saifi Village, Downtown Beirut – was

partners behind the brand – Huda Baroudi and Maria

re-named Tree of Happiness, a perfect fit for this cen-

Hibri – were both touched and amused.

trepiece in the annual collection, Good Things.

These short texts, written by visitors on to small white

“This year was a year like no other for us. The best

strips of fabric, tell of what makes people happy, from

things we’ve experienced as Bokja girls happened in

the grandiose to the mundane, via ‘mementos’, ‘the

our lives, but also the worst things have happened as

moon’, ‘simplicity’, ‘Greek poetry’, and ‘being here

we are living in Lebanon,” Baroudi explains, describing

now’. “We had over 500 contributions coming from

how they were searching for inspiration and motiva-

Italians, Japanese, Koreans – from all these interna-

tion. “We needed something cheerful to move us for-

tional people who were visiting the Salone,” smiles

ward and this tree encapsulates happiness, both for

Hibri. “When design brings emotion like this it’s al-

us and for the people who contributed. It is physically

ways successful.”

beautiful, it engages the viewer in an interactive way, and it can be very useful as a tool for uplifting your

The Tree of Life symbol has been a favourite icon in

mind in difficult times.”

textile crafts for hundreds of years, with diverse territories such as Iran, Armenia, India, Egypt and China embracing the symbol due to its role in the ancient sacred texts of these lands. Bokja’s version was handmade at their Beirut studio. A painstaking collaboration between four artisans over three months, the background of re-purposed rice bags and coffee sacking is heavily adorned with stuffed and stitched branches and feminine pale pink appliquéd roses. Each piece was made separately, only being pieced together in

114

WHEN DESIGN BRINGS EMOTION LIKE THIS IT’S ALWAYS SUCCESSFUL

’ n e r d l i h c r u o f o s e y e e ‘Th e My wife’s lov

the moon

a n n e i V n i s Night y r t e o p k e e r G simplicity

mementos

w o n e r e h g bein e n g a p m a h c d n a s r e w o l f , s Vegetable Tree of Love by Bokja

115

DESIGN

Feeling enthused by the work, the duo wanted to

“When we did the Arab Fall installation for the Institute

expand the concept into a fuller collection, printing

du Monde Arabe, for example, their different inputs

photographs of the original wallhanging on to uphol-

were central. We often talk about what is happen-

stery fabric that they used to cover chairs, totems and

ing politically across the region and because they all

ottomans. “We wanted to put on our rose-coloured

come from different places – Iraq and Syria and so on

glasses and see everything in pink – nothing in black.”

– each comes with their own point of view.”

Hence pink roses are the keynote of this

When they launched

collection, along with

Bokja 15 years ago,

images of animals,

this

in a bid to “entrance

wanted to use fabric

you in a bubble of

to communicate the

happiness and in a

stories and moods of

fantastical place”.

the Arab world and

creative

pair

the Far East through Realising

that

the

the traditionally fe-

Tree of Happiness

male craftwork of tex-

is a powerful piece

tiles, upholstery, and

thanks to the collec-

embroidery. “In Cen-

tive

of

tral Asia they begin

emotion that it encap-

making embroideries

sulates, the design-

for a woman when a

ers are now discuss-

little girl is born, and

ing how to send it on

something

tour to be exhibited

was happening un-

at institutions around

der

the world. As a com-

Such objects were all

munal work of inter-

made by women, for

action and positivity,

women, and commu-

the romance and res-

nicate family stories

onance of this piece

and female dreams

expression

will expand as more people from diverse

the

similar Ottomans.

that we understand Huda Baroudi and Maria Hibri, Bokja Design

locations contribute their own thoughts to the tree.

and empathise with.

We come from the generation that still received things from our grandmothers and those beautiful textiles

The tapestry is collaborative to the core, having been

are in our homes today.”

made by Bokja’s groups of artisans from across the Arab region. Every Friday the team, made up of fe-

The designers see this foregrounding of women’s

male hand-workers and male machinists, has break-

work as artistic practice worth sustaining as falling

fast together to discuss new ideas and current events.

within the postmodern and postfeminist project of

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At Bokja Design

Bokja’s design practice is fundamentally textilebased but this year marks their expansion into dinrehabilitating notions of what good art and design

nerware and other accessories. Since evolving into

can be. Laughing about the attitude within their

a more professionalised design venture, the com-

works, Baroudi quips: “If Corbusier said you should

pany has exhibited a new concept or collection at

put all the weavings back in the drawers then we

the Milan Salone for five years now, and according to

say ‘take them out’.”

the Beirut store manager, they receive requests for commissions or information about pieces every day.

Discussing the ecological aspect of upcycling fabrics,

This season the brand is designing the Christmas

Baroudi explains that, “although this is fashionable

windows for Lane Crawford, China’s top department

now, for us it started without this intention. We just felt

store. “Since we now have this status as a global

that older textiles had more soul in them because time

brand that people seem to resonate with, we get a

has left its marks on them”. She expands, however, by

lot of requests from people who perhaps can’t afford

saying that they are people who love to “create some-

our one-off pieces of furniture.” Their decision to di-

thing out of nothing and capitalise on what little we

versify into more accessible products for the home is

have”, adding, “for us, waste is not welcome, and in

a bid to remedy this. “People refer to Bokja as a lux-

our eyes a piece of expensive embroidery only really

ury brand, which we don’t like at all, so we embarked

shines when you counterpoint it with a more demo-

on wallpapers and on a carpet story… we decided to

cratic fabric such as sackcloth. Searching for these dif-

be practical at the same time as continuing to create

ferent old fabrics has become our way of life now”.

these little fantasy worlds.”

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DESIGN

REFLECTIONS ON INFINITY

The Guggenheim lights up Manarat al Saadiyat in anticipation of its Abu Dhabi opening in 2017, writes Anya Stafford

What subject can we all engage with, no matter na-

Robert Irwin, Doug Wheeler and Larry Bell, as well as

tionality, age or education? Light, the radiant energy,

members of the German ZERO movement: Otto Piene

whether waves or particles, needs no lingual nor cul-

and Heinz Mack. This region is represented by Iran’s

tural bedrock to be understood. “Diverse meanings

Monir Shahroudy, Palestine’s Samia Halaby, Egypt’s

and associations – from the physical to the intellectual

Hassan Khan and India’s Bharti Kher, amongst others.

DIVERSE MEANINGS AND ASSOCIATIONS – FROM THE PHYSICAL TO THE INTELLECTUAL AND FROM THE SPIRITUAL TO THE SCIENTIFIC – ARE EXPLORED THROUGH THE ARTWORKS ON DISPLAY IN SEEING THROUGH LIGHT

and from the spiritual to the scientific – are explored

Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of

through the artworks on display in Seeing Through

Millions of Light Years Away is a real treat to experi-

Light,” says Maisa Al Qassimi, assistant curator of the

ence, particularly when it’s not accompanied by hours

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi’s preview show currently on

of queues, as happened when it showed in New

at Manarat Al Saadiyat until 19 January next year.

York’s David Zwirner gallery last year. Coming face to face with many versions of yourself in an infinite loop

Light is at once a contemporary theme and a medium,

of light and colours is an experience that’s attracting

its all-encompassing sensory nature presenting an ab-

new audiences – and their smartphones – something

stract narrative for us to interpret as we see fit. Seeing

the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will of course be chasing.

Through Light’s ephemerality is further refracted into five categories here: activated, celestial, perceptual, reflected and transcendent. American greats from the Light and Space group are present, such as Dan Flavin,

118

Yayoi Kusama Infinity Mirrored Room窶認illed with the Brilliance of Life, 2011 Mirror-paneled installation with LED lights and water Edition 2/3, 300 x 617.5 x 645.5 cm Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

DESIGN

Angela Bulloch 6 Chains: Permutation B (52:4—White), 2002 LanBox-LCX controller; 21 DMX modules of lacquered birch plywood with diffusion-foiled glass, aluminum panels, cables, and RGB lighting system; six black boxes of lacquered birch plywood, aluminum panels, and cables 50 x 50 x 50 cm each Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

120

DESIGN

Doug Wheeler’s native Arizona desert is the inspiration behind his pioneering work in the Light and Space movement of the 1960s and 1970s, so Untitled, 1968/2013 has a particular affinity with its new home, having only been showcased previously in Fort Worth Community Art Centre Museum in Texas. This neon square glowing in its own black room brings to mind the absolute darkness in the night-time sand dunes nearby contrasting with the sky above. Robert Irwin is another pioneer of that American era to have a piece here – painting softly becomes sculpture in Untitled, 1967-68.

Robert Irwin Untitled, 1967–68 Acrylic lacquer on formed acrylic plastic 116.8 cm, diameter Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

Otto Piene Hängende Lichtkugel [Hanging Light Ball], 1972 Perforated and chromium-plated brass sphere, chromium-plated brass spheres, light bulbs with electric motor 223.5 x 68 cm Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

Y.Z. Kami Endless Prayers XIII, 2008 Cut and pasted printed paper on canvas 177.8 x 195.6 cm Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

The Guggenheim New York and the Serralves Museum in Porto, Portugal will show a retrospective of more than 50 years’ of Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian’s abstract geometries next year, and her mirrored glass piece Untitled, 1976 is included. Her oeuvre is inspired by old mosques, and the Iranian decorative form known as aineh-kari, and the work here is beguiling in the way it manages both complexity and simplicity.

As a foretaste of what we can expect from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Seeing Through Light maps commonalities where there is boundless possibility.

“The richness and flexibility of this exhibition’s theme – and the collection in general – has particular relevance across cultures and time periods,” concludes Maisa Al Qassimi.

121

DESIGN

DORI HITTI’S WEIGHTLESS WONDERS

By Rebecca Proctor

The Lebanese designer’s latest works give the impression of defying the force of gravity

Three licks of curling flame indicate a running figure –

The three curving central lines that denote the verti-

a blur of energy, strength and speed. The simple logo

cal form of a running figure, made up of a tilted head,

of the Beirut Marathon Association served as the inspi-

pumping arms and extended legs – a sprinter on the

ration behind close to 60 artworks in October, when

home stretch – is offset in Hitti’s design by a series

the organisation organised The Peace We Run For, an

of horizontal lines, suggesting a blur of speed or the

exhibition of sculptures based on the design. Among

movement of displaced air. Through the work, dis-

the pieces dreamt up by 29 artists and designers and

played in Downtown Beirut overlooking the yachts

29 local schools is MOTION, an architectural work by

moored in Zaitunay Bay, Hitti evokes dynamism and

Lebanese designer Dori Hitti that emphasises both

determination. The figure, caught mid-stride, appears

speed and force.

airborne, as though defying gravity through willpower alone. The designer chose to give the metal sculpture a white finish to symbolise peace, he explains, “the peace of mind of a runner who never looks back”.

122

DESIGN

123

DESIGN

Hitti’s latest design piece is another attempt to cheat gravity. Designed to evoke the forces of nature, the Gravity Lamp seems to teeter on the edge of what is possible. The limited edition lamps might as easily be classified as sculptures, function blending seamlessly with an emphasis on form. A series of hollow cubes piled one atop the other, the lamps resemble a precarious heap of boxes, which the slightest breath of wind might cause to fall.

Hitti was inspired to create the lamps after reflecting on gravity, which simultaneously holds the world together and limits what is possible. Initially intending to create a sculpture, he realised that the final form, a nicely-judged balance of solidity and empty space, would make the ideal contemporary lamp, practical yet stylish.

Available in dark, brushed steel, red and chrome, the lamps come in three sizes and each edition is signed and numbered. Art lovers to whom aesthetics is as important as function will enjoy the duality of the Gravity Lamp – a light in the darkness, a sculpture in the light.

124

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STYLE

ALTERED IMAGES

by Iain Akerman

From blogger to fashion designer, Morocco’s Sofia El Arabi is mixing tradition with Western modernity via her ethnic chic line of clothing

“I wanted to introduce a new and beautiful Morocco,

“I’m trying to get consumers to go back to the future,”

not only clichés,” says Sofia El Arabi. “A lot of people

says El Arabi, who studied higher education in Nice

I’ve met in the US and the UK thought that Morocco

before moving to Paris and then back to Morocco. “To

was in the south of France, that we do not have cars

the time when everything was handmade and unusual.

but camels on the streets, and that we wear the niqab.

It is important to turn away from this consumer society

It is strange to think that Morocco has this image in

that drains us and makes us exhausted. Handmade

their head. That’s why I first blogged, this was the only

art is common in our country. It is a tradition that is lost

way for me to show them that they are wrong. I want-

but must be – thanks to people of my generation and

ed to reinterpret the classical kaf-

the future – reborn, adapted and

tans, mixed with design interior

repositioned.”

and food. This is how my brand has born.”

Currently working on her spring/ summer collection for 2015,

The fashion designer, blogger,

which will feature “a lot of lace,

stylist and entrepreneur from Cas-

vintage crochet and romance”,

ablanca is something of a phe-

El Arabi mixes traditional North

nomenon in her native country,

African folkloric wear with more

belonging to a new generation of

modern ‘Western’ pieces.

young and ambitious Moroccan women who dart between both the southern and northern shores of the Mediterranean.

“For my brand, Bakchic, I want to be represented in great concept stores with other young designers all over the world,” she says. “I want

Having recently made the move from the virtual world

to show another image of fashion from Moroccan and

of fashion and her Bakchic blog to the tangible world

the Arab world.”

of fashion design with her own Bakchic label, El Arabi is rising to the not insignificant challenge of combining West and East in her clothing designs.

126

127

STYLE

AN ILLUSTRIOUS HERITAGE

by Avril Groom

Bulgari’s meticulously curated archive collection is one of the world’s most distinctive, and a must see for any lover of jewellery

Any jewellery lover visiting Rome should make a pil-

the world’s most distinctive. The brand’s different jew-

grimage to the Via Condotti and Bulgari’s sumptuous

ellery phases, developed over the years and always

and recently redesigned flagship store. On the first

identifiable, each have their own collection and Bul-

floor is a new, very special area – DOMVS, Latin for

gari fans delight in seeing how contemporary designs

‘home’ and the perfect place to show off the Roman

always reference the details of a previous period.

jeweller’s illustrious heritage.

The Roman heritage is never forgotten either, though sometimes it is subtle.

Launched this autumn as part of the events celebrating 130 years since a Greek silversmith named Sotirio Bulgari arrived in Rome to set up shop, it is far more than a small museum. It includes not just a warm, golden-toned gallery to show off an ever-changing exhibition of Bulgari’s many heritage pieces, but a relaxed area, with cream sofas and glass and crystal chandeliers, original photographs and sketches of jewellery, all under a vaulted ceiling recalling Bulgari’s favourite cabochon stones, where intimate cultural events and performances are planned.

Like the store, DOMVS was deigned by Peter Marino, who brings his distinctive, light and modern yet opulent touch with bronze and marble, and openwork screens based on the tiled floor of the Roman Pantheon. Bulgari’s jewels deserve such a setting because the meticulously curated archive collection is one of

128

Front of the Bulgari shop Via dei Condotti 1920s Bulgari Historical Archive

Watches room, The new store by Peter Marino

DOMVS Via Condotti

129

Octogonal Sapphire necklace owned by Elizabeth Taylor

1970s necklace with three Roman coins (54-68 AD) in gold

Emerald and diamond pieces bought by Richard Burton for Elizabeth Taylor

1950s diamond and ruby brooch shaped like the Piazza dl Campodoglio and once owned by Anna Magnani

Serpenti HJ watch with turquoise

130

STYLE

Take the 1920s and 1930s heyday of ‘tutti frutti’ – the

has famous provenance, such as the familiar emerald

riotous mixes of coloured stones like rubies, emeralds

and diamond pieces bought by Richard Burton for

and sapphires with diamonds that were inspired by

Elizabeth Taylor when they were filming in Rome. As

the jewels of India, where Bulgari found many of its

he said: “I introduced her to beer, she introduced me

individual stones and which supplied a ready clientele

to Bulgari.” There’s also a stunning 1950s diamond

of noble families wanting European-designed jewel-

and ruby brooch shaped like the Piazza dl Campodo-

lery. The style looks Oriental yet

glio and once owned by Anna

many pieces recall ancient Rome,

Magnani, and pieces from the

such as a vast carved, octagonal

collections of Sophia Loren, Gina

sapphire echoing the ceiling of

Lollobrigida and Ingrid Bergman,

the Massenzio Basilica, which lat-

amongst others.

er became part of a dramatic sautoir owned by Elizabeth Taylor. Or

From that period also come the

the curved takhti cut – currently

original Serpenti items – the beau-

used in the Mvsa collection but

tifully articulated snake bracelets

which recalls both Indian palace

and necklaces, often enamelled

roofs and Roman tiles.

and set with precious stones, that have given rise to details on

Another important part of the

watches and handbags and is one

Bulgari heritage is the Monete.

of Bulgari’s most popular and en-

The use of ancient coins goes

during motifs. Later came the ex-

right back to Sotirio’s day – it is

tra large sautoirs of the 1970s and

still a feature of Greek jewellery

the huge, multi-coloured neck-

– though the coins used through

laces from the 1980s, both often

Bulgari’s history have been Ro-

in modernist, organic shapes that

man. Currently exhibited is a

are being mirrored once again in

1970s necklace with three Roman

high jewellery pieces for exhibi-

coins (54-68 AD) in gold, silver

tions like this year’s Paris Biennale.

and bronze, each featuring the head of Nero. The coin is used to

The new Lvcea watch with the tiny diamond that often tops ruby or other beads in the tutti frutti style

Even the finest details of classic Bulgari design are revisited – the

this day, even on the clasps of beautiful watersnake

tiny diamond that often tops ruby or other beads in

handbags, as Bulgari’s exquisitely-made accessories

the tutti frutti style reappears on the ruby crown of the

become as important to the brand as its jewellery.

new Lvcea watch, which also has a modern, stylised version of the Serpenti bracelet.

The Bulgari heritage is also intimately bound up with its starry clientele, especially from the Dolce Vita cin-

A brilliant heritage that works so well for today – what

ema era of the 1960s. Much of the jewellery on show

more can a jeweller and its customers ask for?

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COLLECTOR

COLLECTOR PROFILE: ELIE KHOURI

by Iain Akerman

One of the most influential men in regional media, Elie Khouri has become what he calls a ‘serious’ collector during the course of the past five years and has his eyes set on some big prizes

“Look at this red box. It’s something that I like a lot. It’s

Khouri may be one of the most powerful and influen-

something that summarises what we do in our busi-

tial men in regional media and advertising, but he has

ness, which is making sense of chaos,” says Elie Khou-

been collecting art for years. Sculpture, photography,

ri with a smile and the slight hint of a laugh.

painting and pieces of design constitute his ever burgeoning collection, but it was only five years ago that

We’re sitting in Khouri’s office in Dubai

he became what he describes as a

Media City and the red box in ques-

‘serious’ collector.

tion is Organised Chaos by Belgian conceptual artist Arne Quinze. It’s one

“Serious collecting is when you start

of many pieces of art, sculpture and

to buy 15 or 20 pieces at least every

design that pepper his office and the

year,” he says. “Before that I was col-

wider halls and corridors of the Om-

lecting casually, buying things that I

nicom Media Group MENA, of which

liked, but I wasn’t really addicted to it.

Khouri is chief executive officer. In fact,

All collectors – or serious collectors –

he has helped make the company’s

have an addiction to buying and col-

regional HQ more akin to an art gal-

lecting art and it gets into your blood.

lery than that of a media powerhouse.

“I focus on contemporary art and buy “You know our business very well Iain

work from all over the world, as well

and you know politically how difficult it is; how chal-

as from this region. I have this thing where I want to

lenging it is,” adds Khouri. “Art is a glimpse of hope. It’s

support the local art scene, so that’s my drive be-

a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a passion I want to

hind buying some of the local artists’ work, but mainly

take further and eventually look at ways to take it to

I’m buying international pieces, although the gal-

the next stage.”

leries here have, unfortunately, limited exposure to

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DESIGN

Andrea BranziI, Tree 1, 2010, Anodized Aluminum, Birch Wood, Carpenters Workshop Gallery

133

Nabil Nahas, Serendipity, 2013, acrylic on canvasLawrie Shabib Gallery

international work. They only support Middle Eastern,

lished by Art Dubai. He also supports the Association

Turkish and Iranian artists and although I know some

for the Promotion and Exhibition of the Arts in Lebanon

of them have relationships with international artists, I

(APEAL), a non-profit organisation dedicated to show-

buy stuff from London, from New York, from Paris, and

casing and encouraging Lebanese artists.

a lot on the web these days. The web is becoming a source of inspiration and also acquisition of artwork.”

“Art to me means beauty, connectivity and happiness,” he says. “I think about five, six, seven or eight years

As the regional head of OMG, Khouri oversees the

ago I looked at myself and said ‘Elie, you really have

operations of three leading communication planning

to start to enjoy life’. I was working, working, working

agencies – OMD, PHD and Resolution – as well as

and there should be life after work. I should be able

several specialist companies and units. With a work-

to take holidays, look at beautiful things, start hobbies

force of 420 people and an expanding footprint

and what have you. So immediately, the first thing that

across the region, he has limited amounts of time to fo-

attracted me was art collecting. It maybe goes back to

cus on anything outside of work. However, that hasn’t

the early days of my childhood when I used to watch

stopped him from becoming a member of START’s

my father, who’s a chef. He always used to cook in

honorary committee, a non-profit organisation estab-

front of me and I always used to be by his side when

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COLLECTOR

he was cooking. And when he started mixing those ingredients and those colours and putting shapes together and concocting beautiful meals, this I think is when you start appreciating forms and shapes and colours. And cooking is a form of art. So maybe that’s where I got it, from the family. Also, I’ve always been somebody who’s keen on design, someone who’s keen on fashion and style; I love to explore new material, I love craftsmanship. All of that is part of my per-

something to him.

I’VE ALWAYS BEEN SOMEBODY WHO’S KEEN ON DESIGN, SOMEONE WHO’S KEEN ON FASHION AND STYLE; I LOVE TO EXPLORE NEW MATERIAL, I LOVE CRAFTSMANSHIP. ALL OF THAT IS PART OF MY PERSONALITY

At present he is looking to acquire pieces by Brazil-

His collection is spread and curated across his homes

ian artist Vik Muniz and New York-based contempo-

in Dubai and Beirut, the offices of OMG, and a handful

rary visual artist George Condo, although he has his

of holiday properties, with the rest kept in storage and

eyes on bigger prizes. “I would like to eventually buy a

rotated when deemed necessary. “I love all the things

Jean Dubuffet; I’d like to buy [a piece by] Basquiat, but

that I own, but you have a stronger connection with

these are too expensive. So you have to keep an eye

certain pieces because they relate to you. So those I

on something and then when you have an opportunity

tend to curate in the house based on size, based on

you buy it.”

of course colour, and based on the depth of the field

sonality.”

For Khouri, the style and creativity of an artist’s work is of the utmost importance, whilst he buys on the basis of originality. He also requires a connection with the style of the artist, with any given piece having to mean

when viewing. Some pieces you have to see them from far, others you need to be closer to to appreciate the meaning. But it depends on the location, the depth of field, the colour schemes. This is how I curate pieces.”

A regular at Frieze in London, Art Basel in Miami, and both the Dubai and Abu Dhabi art fairs, Khouri cuts a fine figure as an art collector. He researches the best galleries, seeks to further his knowledge in art, and pursues work that has originality at its core. “It’s a lovely passion. It takes you away from the business #28 Ben-2012-Block Print, hand printed on paper with coffee stain and hand paintingOpera Miami Gallery

side of things,” he says. “You’re looking at something beautiful; something so very relaxing. It’s what I need.

It’s what I enjoy. It helps relieve the chaos.”

135

21—25 January 2015 Business Design Centre Islington, London N1 Book Tickets londonartfair.co.uk

CURATED BY

CURATED BY LEILA HELLER

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CURATED BY

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CURATED BY

Art to me is beyond a purely aesthetic appeal or finan-

In many of the works, a sense of an infinite space is

cial value, it is also an immediate feeling and reaction.

produced in an enclosed and finite environment. Yayoi

Since I was a young child, I have been surrounded

Kusama’s Narcissus Garden, comprised of hundreds

and inspired by the art that was on the walls of my

of mirrored spheres placed outdoors, is a large-scale

family home and the creative traditions that have been

installation where viewers see countless reflections of

part of my culture for centuries – mesmerising geo-

themselves. This piece touches upon the spiritual links

metric labyrinth designs, poetic miniature narratives

that humans have with the earth and, furthermore, with

and illuminated spiritual texts which still inhabit my

the universe. Dilip Chobisa explores the mysteries of

memories of that long ago era. Memory is one of the

human consciousness through the depiction of soli-

most boundless and mysterious states of the human

tude; he creates multi-dimensional framed rooms that

mind that instills in me the sense of infinity and even

are starkly empty and that often play with light and per-

– spirituality. Spirituality, in all its forms, and the sense

spective. Steven Naifeh’s inspiration stems from his

of infinity which it fosters continues to inspire artists

deep appreciation of Islamic architecture. His Saida

from all over the world. For this curated section, I have

works are modular experimentations in which a single

chosen works by artists who are in conversation with

simple geometric form is combined to create complex

notions of spirituality and the infinite.

Islamic motifs. Ran Hwang incorporates Buddhist spirituality in all her works. In her Snowfall of Spiders instal-

Light has been used by countless traditions as a uni-

lation, the weaves of the spider webs are symbolic

versal symbol of divinity and is also synonymous with

of the complex cyclical nature of life. Ultimately, the

infinity. James Turell’s work not only evokes these no-

works that I chose reflect aspects of traditions of spiri-

tions but is the result of a lifetime of exploration into the

tuality and infinity through the lens of contemporary

qualities and perspectives of light and space. YZ Kami

critical thought.

also explores spirituality in his portraiture and his abstract collage paintings. His series Endless Prayers interweaves scriptures from prayer and poetry into captivating geometric patterns recalling Islamic domes.

Hadieh Shafie’s paper scroll paintings represent a reinterpretation of the tradition of calligraphic script and design repetition present in Islamic art. The process of creating her multi-dimensional works is comprised

Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller

of the layering of thousands of strips of hand-painted

President of the Leila Heller Gallery

and rolled paper and results in a deeply meditative

New York

journey for both the artist and the viewer. Ayad Alkadhi’s works on paper from his Hear My Words series feature calligrams of hands as a visual symbol of prayer and spirituality while seamlessly intertwining Arabic spiritual sayings.

139

CURATED BY

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CURATED BY

RAN HWANG, Snowfall of Spider, 2014 Paper Buttons, beads, pins on Plexiglas Dimensions variable Courtesy of the artist and Leila Heller Gallery

141

CURATED BY

JAMES TURRELL, The Light Inside, 1999, neon and ambient light, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum commission, gift of Isabel B. and Wallace S. Wilson. Š James Turrell

142

CURATED BY

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CURATED BY

DILIP CHOBISA I don’t hide...it’s there A, 2014 Graphite on paper and canvas, acrylic color, mixed media, painted wooden frame and acrylic glass 36 x 36 in / 91.4 x 91.4 cm Courtesy of the artist

144

CURATED BY

HADIEH SHAFIE 22300 Pages (Telesm Series), 2013 Ink, acrylic and paper with printed and hand written Farsi text Eshgh “Love/Passion” 48 in / 121.9 cm diameter Courtesy of the artist and Leila Heller Gallery

145

CURATED BY

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YAYOI KUSAMA, Narcissus Garden, 1966, Installation, Mixed Media Installation View: Venice Biennial, Italy Copyright: Yayoi Kusama.

147

CURATED BY

CURATED BY

AYAD ALKADHI Hear My Words, 2013 Mixed media on heavy paper 37 x 30 in / 94 x 76.2 cm Courtesy of the artist and Leila Heller Gallery

149

CURATED BY

Y.Z. KAMI, Endless Prayers III, 2006, Mixed media on paper, 42 x29 3/4 Inches, (106.7 x 75.6cm), KAMI 2006.0012, Š Y.Z. Kami. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery. Photography by Robert McKeever

150

CURATED BY

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CURATED BY

STEVEN NAIFEH Saida II: White, 1998 Enamel on canvas 120 x 120 in / 304.8 x 304.8 cm Courtesy of the artist and Leila Heller Gallery

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CURATED BY

LITERATURE

BEIRUT AND THE PRISM OF POETRY

by Iain Akerman

Zeina Hashem Beck’s debut poetry collection is a multifaceted portrait of the people, streets, bars and cafes of Beirut

“I’ve always been drawn to poetry, and I think it all

represents the physical incarnation of a book that has

boils down to an innate love of language and words,”

been haunting her since 2006, but is also the direct

says Zeina Hashem Beck. “In school, one of my fa-

result of her winning of the 2013 Backwaters Prize,

vourite things to do was to memorise poems and re-

which was judged by poet Lola Haskins.

cite them to the class (sometimes very dramatically).

I have a very clear memory, for example, of the first

“It’s like a mixture of having accomplished a goal and

time I read Victor Hugo’s poem about his daughter’s

having a baby,” says Beck, who lives in Dubai and has

death, titled Demain, Dès l’Aube. I still get tears in my

a BA and an MA in English Literature from the Ameri-

eyes whenever I re-read it. There’s something about a

can University of Beirut. “On the one hand, there’s the

good poem that simply moves you, and stays with you.

‘I did it!’ kind of moment, which means many things.

I love the condensed language of a good poem, the

It means that if you are passionate enough about

imagery, the rhythm, and the way it makes the familiar

something, and if you work hard enough, you will get

unfamiliar, and vice-versa.”

it. It also makes your work materialise a little more, for both the readers who don’t know you and the people

Now it is Beck’s turn to move people with words; to

around you who have been listening to you talk about

revel in the rhythm of language. Her first book of poet-

the book in your head for years. All this makes it feel

ry, To Live in Autumn, has just been published by The

as if you’re now more ‘officially’ a poet, despite the

Backwaters Press in the US and official book launches

fact that you’ve been writing and publishing in literary

have taken place in both Dubai and Beirut. For the

magazines for years.

Lebanese poet, her debut poetry collection not only

154

“On the other hand, it’s almost like having a baby. You keep reminding yourself that the baby is now outside

Zeina Hashem Beck Photo by Tiffany Schultz

your womb. And you are sometimes overwhelmed by the baby blues.”

Married with two children, Beck has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and her poems have been published in various literary magazines in the US and the UK. Described by Haskins as “honest and passionate”,

I’VE CARRIED THIS CITY WITH ME FOR A LONG TIME, AND I HOPE THE READERS WILL CARRY IT WITH THEM FOR SOME TIME AS WELL.

Beck’s book is centred on her fascination with Beirut and wider Lebanon, despite “the love/hate relationship that I have with the country”.

about my Beirut, that it’s inspired by the streets, bars, friendships, neighbours, strangers, taxi drivers, cafés,

“Place is essential to this collection, and so is memory,”

dances, explosions, languages, meetings, and sepa-

says Beck, who runs poetry workshops in Dubai and

rations that I’ve known. That it’s inspired by a city that

regularly performs her poetry with the Poeticians and

I felt I was gradually losing to time and distance, a city

Punch, a Dubai-based poetry and open mic collective

(and a country) that has, and continues to attract/repel/

she hosts. “In fact, the working title for To Live in Au-

soothe/scare me. I’ve carried this city with me for a

tumn was, for quite some time, Re-membering Beirut.

long time, and I hope the readers will carry it with them

I keep saying that this book is not about Beirut, but

for some time as well.”

155

Etel Adnan, Untitled, Watercolor, 12,7 x 17,5 cm

Etel Adnan, Untitled, Watercolor, 12,7 x 17,5 cm

Etel Adnan on Mount Tamalpais

Etel Adnan, Untitled, Watercolor, 8,2 x 12,8 cm

156

Etel Adnan, Untitled, Watercolor, 12,7 x 17,5 cm

LITERATURE

IN THE LIBRARY WITH ETEL ADNAN

by Kasia Maciejowska

The grande dame of Lebanese painting and poetry is enjoying a great deal of attention from the contemporary art scene. Here she takes time out from her international schedule to speak with Selections about the books that she lives with and the literature that has influenced her As Etel Adnan nears her 90th birthday, she has be-

A prolific writer and artist, it is little wonder she con-

come best known for her small, colourful paintings.

fesses to having not read most of the books she owns.

But her life has in many ways been one of letters.

“I have books in three continents, all over my houses

Her novel Sitt Marie Rose, a pacifist, feminist story

– I need another lifetime to read them all,” she admits.

set during the Lebanese Civil War, is now in its eighth

“The one time I read books properly was when I was a

edition and has been translated into six languages

professor, so that I could face the classroom.”

since it was first published in 1978. At one point or another,

Adnan puts this down to her

Adnan has stepped into the

character,

role of novelist, playwright, es-

as an impatient person. “I don’t

sayist, poet, philosophy profes-

read much, but when I do read,

sor and arts journalist. She is

I read seriously.” She also attri-

as verbal as she is visual, and

butes it to her taste for poetry,

expresses her interior world

particularly American modern-

through two distinct practices

ists such as Ezra Pound and

that she only sometimes brings

Charles Olson, of which she

together.

feels “sometimes only half a

describing

herself

page is enough”.

In conversation with curator Hans Ulrich-Obrist, she once

During the 1970s Adnan con-

explained that painting, for her,

sciously moved away from writ-

is an expression of joy, while

ing in French, wanting to reject

writing, by contrast, is a medita-

the language’s colonialist impli-

tion on the tragic. She has also spoken of becoming

cations in North Africa and the Levant. Today, Ameri-

addicted to reading the poetry of Baudelaire in Paris

can English is her working language and her Arabic

when she was 20 years old. “When I was young I read

is self-pronounced as terrible, but she nevertheless

all of Balzac, but I’ve never read Proust and still dream

loves to read Arabic poetry. “It’s funny, but somehow I

of doing so.”

just get it,” she says. She cites Joumana Haddad, Mahmoud Darwish, Abbas Beydoun, Iskandar Habache,

157

Etel Adnan, Mots & Signes, 2013 Ink, watercolor Cover: 21,2 x 9,1 cm 60 pages á 21 x 9 cm, max. extension 540 cm Courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut / Hamburg

Etel Adnan, East River Pollution “From Laura’s window”, New York, April 79, 1979 Crayon, pencil Cover: 21 x 8,3 cm 30 pages à 20,5 x 8 cm, max. extension 240 cm Courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut / Hamburg

Etel Adnan, New York “From Laura’s window”, May 23, 1990 Watercolor, ink Cover: 18,3 x 12,3 cm 22 pages à 18 x 12 cm; max. extension 264 cm Courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut / Hamburg

158

LITERATURE

Khaled Najjar and Akl Awit as being among her favourites, also noting that “there are many wonderful Arabic poets in Yemen but nobody knows them”.

Today, Paris plays home to Adnan and her partner, also an artist and writer of Levantine origin, Simone Fattal. The pair met in Beirut in the 1970s and began dreaming up plans to establish an arts community in the Lebanese mountains when the Civil War derailed their utopian vision. They escaped to build their dreams elsewhere, moving to Sausalito in Northern California. There, Mount Tamalpais became Adnan’s subject for 30 years.

One of her favourite American contemporaries is Joanne Kyger, a member of the Beat Generation associated with the Northern California scene, whose free verse is influenced by her travels through Asia and the ideas of Zen Buddhism. Kyger’s poem The Crystal in Tamalpais plays on the Native American heritage of Adnan’s beloved mountain when she writes:

“Go out to the rock. Take out of the medicine bag the crystal that matches the crystal in Tamalpais. And if your heart is not true if your heart is not true when you tap the rock in the clam patch a little piece of it will fly off and strike you in the heart and strike you dead.”

Unsure of why she returns to the poems of Kyger, Rimbaud, Pound and Baudelaire, she says: “But that is their genius – they haunt you. And you don’t know why.” This mysterious siren song has given Adnan’s literary favourites their power to summon her back to them over the years, just as the unknowable essence of Mount Tamalpais has prompted its recurrence on her celebrated canvas.

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THEATRE

A PEEK INTO THE DIARY OF NICHOLAS CHRISOSTOMOU In his latest diary entry for Selections, events consultant, Gulf regular and founder of new online travel and lifestyle portal The Cultured Traveller, looks back at the year just gone How does one measure the success of a year and to

undiscovered countries, experiencing different cultures,

what should one attribute most importance?

tasting unfamiliar foods and seeing new sites. I have a rule to visit one new country every year – which for a

For the financially fixated the amount of money earned,

creature of habit is not as easy as it sounds. This year

or by how much cash they’ve increased their bank bal-

I may have visited 18 countries in four continents, but in

ances, will be the sole measure of the successfulness of

this day and age, when boarding a plane is now as nor-

the past 12 months. I understand, but pity these people

mal as getting in a taxi, travelling so much is no longer

– to whom only money and material things are important

unusual amongst my peers. Of the new places I visited

– not least because I was a lot like them a decade ago.

in 2014, Vietnam and Colombia were both incredible ex-

Thankfully my priorities have shifted.

periences, South America particularly being something of an eye opener, even for a street-wise chap like me.

Friendships forged, renewed or fallen by the wayside will have been central to the year for many. Career progres-

But at the forefront of my mind when recapping this year

sion, a promotion, achieving a work goal, securing a new

in my head was my maiden visit to Beirut in February, an

job or perhaps starting a new business venture will be

experience which I neither expected or was prepared

the measure of a successful year for those determined

for, but one which I will never forget. My first experience

and driven individuals amongst us.

of Beirut made an indelible impression on my very being within hours of setting foot in Lebanon. Not since my

Losing a loved one or welcoming a new life into the world

first visit to Cape Town pushing 15 years ago has visiting

will have dominated countless lives since 1 January.

a new city had such a positive affect on me, to such an extent that I returned to Beirut three more times in quick

Rekindling a past romance, starting a new relationship

succession, meeting some incredible, inspiring individu-

or ending a sour one and moving on to pastures new

als along the way.

will have been emotionally pivotal to many people’s year.

Beirut has such a unique electricity, character and resilSplashing out on a new car, a designer suit, a flatscreen

ience, which is as much generated by its people as it is

TV too big for their home or getting their hands on the

by the cityscape, that it hooked me that very first night.

latest smartphone will have been the be all and end all

Living the city and spending time with the people who

for some.

make Beirut tick has undoubtedly been the highlight of my 2014. That and adopting a second dog to keep my

160

Aside from the genuine new friends I unexpectedly

nine-year-old Hungarian Puli company. What’s been the

made this year (you know who you are), my 2014 has

highlight of your year? I really hope it wasn’t getting your

been one of seeking out new destinations, travelling to

hands on a certain new ‘phone’.

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