About the artists and their exhibited work:

Ebtisam Abdulaziz, A Safe Person to Approach, 2018

Performance video, 7min 51sec

Courtesy of the artist

Produced with the support of Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF)

Zayed the Soft Power | Tolerance & Respect

About the artwork

Ebtisam Abdulaziz brings attention to the #safetypin movement which uses the safety pin as a symbol of tolerance and solidarity. These safety pins are worn in public by those who wish to identify themselves as allies to members of the community who feel marginalized and vulnerable. This symbolism aims to champion a shared respect for all religions, nationalities and genders. The performance extends this discourse by asking the viewer to consider what more could be done to stand in solidarity with those at risk.

About the artist

Emirati artist Ebtisam Abdulaziz maintains a multidisciplinary practice which includes explorations through performance, installation and works on paper. Reflecting her bachelor’s degree in Science & Mathematics, Abdulaziz draws from her foundation of structured systems to examine issues of identity and culture. Abdulaziz is an established artist who has exhibited extensively both regionally and internationally including participation in the Abu Dhabi Festival 2018 Exhibition From Barcelona to

Abu Dhabi, the 53rd Venice Biennale and the FotoFest Biennial in Houston, Texas.

Maha Ali Abdulla, Surrounding the Sarood, 2018

Acrylic on wood, various sizes

Courtesy of the artist

Zayed the Soft Power | Unity

About the artwork

Maha Ali Abdulla is an emerging Emirati artist that maintains a respectful nostalgia for the historical traditions of the UAE. Through vibrant, textured paintings, Maha Ali Abdulla re-contextualizes the Emirati sarood, a hand-woven mat made of dried palm fronds traditionally used for food presentation. Through her work, Maha Ali Abdulla hopes to rekindle an interest in this symbol of hospitality, referencing the rituals associated with breaking bread, which have brought people together for millennia. Selecting colors that reference the flags of nations both near and far, the artist speaks to His Highness Sheikh Zayed’s vision to bring people together from across the globe to find unity and prosperity in the UAE.

About the artist

Maha Ali Abdulla is currently studying visual arts at Zayed University while participating in an internship with a gallery in Dubai.  Her practice aims to bring the history and tradition of the UAE into a contemporary visual dialogue. Maha Ali Abdulla is a new member of ADMAF Nationals’ Gallery and is passionate about pursuing a career in visual arts.

Dr. Ahmed Al Faresi, Unity, 2018

Digital transfer on polyurethane, 104 x 205 cm

Courtesy of the artist

Zayed the Soft Power | Tolerance & Respect

About the artwork

Influenced by his experience as a Muslim student attending a Jesuit university, Dr. Ahmed Al Faresi discovered a unifying connection between many world religions; namely the call for peace and submission to the divine. The hand drawn infinity symbol has become a common motif throughout his practice and the foundation from which his drawings are constructed. In this particular work, the small figure eights repeat and overlap in a lattice work that presents as ethereal and otherworldly. Emphasizing the interconnected nature of religious history, Al Faresi calls attention to the connections that can be drawn between belief systems, a unification of devotion that links all people of faith.

About the artist

Dr. Ahmed Al Faresi is a self-taught, mixed media artist from Al Ain, where he lives and works. He addresses contemporary topics using unusual materials to generate subliminal messages. His concepts range across scientific, religious, poetic and political arenas. Evidence of his academic studies in cryptography can be found throughout his practice, with materials, historical and cultural references, accumulating to communicate complex concepts that can only be appreciated over time. His Emirati heritage is also incorporated through the patterns, textures, materials and subject matters he combines. Dr. Ahmed Al Faresi is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Information Technology (FIT) at  the United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain.

Hussain AlMoosawi, Growth, 2018

Diptych, Digitally displayed photographs

Courtesy of the artist

Zayed the Soft Power | Human Development & Knowledge

About the artwork

Taking the form of 26 digital images, Hussain AlMoosawi’s series is a photographic archive of architectural facades in the UAE. After eight years of study abroad, AlMoosawi returned to experience a nation that had completely transformed. Without witnessing these significant changes as they unfolded, the artist felt disconnected from this growth, although he too had changed. Perhaps in an effort to counterbalance the attention devoted to the new glass and steel structures, AlMoosawi focused his attention on the buildings erected in the 70s and 80s, pursuing nostalgia and preserving his own history. As the project evolved, he began to shift his focus, embracing not only the architecture of his childhood but embracing contemporary structures that recently took shape. At a personal level, AlMoosawi was making peace with this evolution and embracing an archive that would reflect the nation as a whole. With his signature style, AlMoosawi dissects and documents both old and new, producing a comprehensive collection of typologies that tell the story of architecture across the country.

About the artist

Hussain Al Moosawi is an Emirati communication designer and photographer. Trained in Australia and currently based in Abu Dhabi, he has worked as an infographic artist at The National newspaper for the last four years. As a photographer, he maintains a never-ending quest to rediscover the urban landscape of the UAE, by systematically documenting the subtle visual elements often overlooked in a country known for its modern architecture.

Abdelghani Al Nahawi, In and Out of Phase, 2018

Installation of wood, plaster, charcoal, silicon silicate

Courtesy of Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship

Zayed the Soft Power | Wisdom & Peace

About the artwork

Abdelghani Al Nahawi encourages audiences to trace evolved impressions in a physical world which relies heavily on a surplus of unconsciousness. He believes that repression of expression has taken on a new form in contemporary life and tries to unveil ways through which one can live harmoniously in a world one does not have to be part of. His perspective often comes from zooming deeply in and extending beyond both matter and time, in order to provide a fantasy-like experience which opens up possibilities of new spaces and dimensions, and which do not obey the set laws and limits of our given world. In this work, Al Nahawi is concerned with the ‘social world’ we live in, which consists of ‘social matter’ that carry ‘social properties’. A recurring question is ‘what exists or could be beyond our determined limits?’ Could the mind be able to escape time and space, and see what is not given?

About the artist

Originally Palestinian, Abdelghani Al Nahawi was born and raised in Ras Al Khaimah, and later moved to Dubai where he currently lives and works. Al Nawahi attained his Bachelor of Fine Arts in visual communication in 2015 and has been working as a creative designer for over three years. His practice explores three-dimensional works that appear deconstructed, ruined or exhausted. His practice explores three-dimensional works that appear deconstructed, ruined or exhausted, in order to investigate what is given (or not) and what is seen (or not), as he continues to dissect the human experience through his work.

Patricia Millns, Silence, 2018

Handmade stitched feathered books on acrylic base, space specific installation

Courtesy of the artist

Zayed the Soft Power | Wisdom & Peace

About the artwork

Words here are substituted by silent fluttering feathers to create a phonological pattern. The use of the multiplicity and repetition of simple units breaks through surface illusion to achieve realization and understanding of the iconic unit. One is led to view the spatial pauses between the individual pages to experience the silent intervals within which everything occurs. Within silence concepts can take form, within silence the subconscious can become conscious, within silence the true understanding of the concept of peace is to be found.

A complex order is present in this simple network. In repetition Patricia Millns aims to create an urban sculpture that can become a vehicle for those words of peace and through silence, their true identity is revealed at a theoretical level.

About the artist

Patricia Millns has a BA with Honours in Fine Art, a Commendation in Medieval History and a MA in Art and Design History. Millns has maintained a studio practice in Middle East for over 35 years. With a focus on installation, Millns is inspired by the cultural significance of adornment, dress and olfactory heritage of the region.  Millns is a respected advisor on art and design and continues to mentor emerging artists.

Millns is an elected Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts UK (FRSA). Elected member of  IAPA UNESCO and Emirates Fine Art Society. Her works are represented in public and private collections regionally and internationally.

Ranim Orouk, The Rebirth, 2018

Stacked wood and sand, 70 x 200 x 60 cm

An ADMAF Commission 2018

Courtesy of the artist

Part of The Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation Art Collection © ADMAF

Zayed the Soft Power | Sustainability & The Environment

About the artwork

Inspired by the Arabian oryx, The Rebirth explores one of the UAE’s animal populations at risk of extinction. The sculpture envisages the return of the Arabian oryx after a focused breeding programme which was undertaken through the vision of H.H. the late Sheikh Zayed. Oryx horns begin to appear gradually from beneath the sand until they are fully revived, representing a population brought back from the brink. Through sustainable practices and a shared respect for the environment, there is hope for these and other species at risk.

About the artist

Ranim Orouk’s technical background in architecture gave rise to her intricate explorations of nature and geometry. A fascination with form has shaped her appreciation of the harmony inherent in the world around her. She constantly searches for new means to communicate ideas and concepts, experimenting with materials and methods she views each work as a development, a perpetual associative progression through her practice.

Orouk received her bachelor’s degree in architecture from the American University of Sharjah. She has been awarded several prestigious awards including the 2016 Middle East Emergent Designer Prize, Al Ghurair Public Art Commission 2014, and the 2013 BP Research Award.

Nayef AlBlooshi, Machine No 003, 2018

Digital augmented reality installation

An ADMAF Commission 2018

Courtesy of the artist

Part of The ADMAF Art Collection © ADMAF

Zayed the Soft Power | Core Values

About the artwork

An augmented reality experience Machine No. 003 dedicated to the Year of Zayed and commissioned by the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF) for the ADMAF Pavilion at Abu Dhabi Art 2018. The experience uses augmented reality to show the Year of Zayed values: Wisdom and Peace, Tolerance and Respect, Unity, Human Development and Knowledge and Sustainability & Environment.

About the artist

Nayef AlBalooshi is an Emirati digital artist who studied Information Systems in UAE University and co-founded After Work Games, an independent video game development company based in Abu Dhabi where he combines his love for design and IT with his passion for video games to create unique experiences.