Dubai Design Week

Engage in art at 'The Beach', the upbeat outdoor destination by Meraas, with two unique and unorthodox installations by young and upcoming Emirati artists in partnership with Dubai Design Week.

The installations eccentrically crafted can be accessed at two distinct locations at 'The Beach' throughout the season.

Saleh Al Geziry, Vice President Retail Management & Transactions, Meraas said, "We are extremely excited to host unique art installations at our assets in partnership with the first Dubai Design Week in the region.

"Dubai Design Week helps to place Dubai on the map as a leading design hub, shining the international spotlight on the city and its exciting design talent. Through its destinations in Dubai, Meraas has built platforms that inspire creativity and showcase art from the region to engage residents and visitors of Dubai.

"Our endeavour is to make art accessible and promote a culture for artistic appreciation."

Yaroof, designed by Aljoud Lootah, is inspired by the process of traditional Yaroof fishing.

It consists of four octagonal frames, each with patterns created by using nylon ropes to depict the shape and structure of a fishing net.

The patterns are influenced by complex Arabesque motifs, and inspired by its form, the curves found in the designs are created entirely with straight lines.

Latifa Saeed is an Emirati multidisciplinary conceptual artist and designer who has worked with traditional artisanal Emirati techniques and materials, reviving them in a contemporary context.

The other half of the duo, Talin Hazbar, is a designer keen on experimenting with materials to test their behaviours, challenge their properties, and recall built structures.

While time is a tangible element in Hazbar's structures; her work is often characterised by the freezing of a moment in time.

Minimalistic in design and detailed with architectural definition, 'The Beach' is styled with intent.

City Walk:

City Walk, the dynamic outdoor destination by Meraas, has partnered with Dubai Design Week to host a modern art installation designed by young and upcoming Emirati artist Zeinab Al Hashemi.

The exceptionally crafted installation can be viewed at the promenade in front of Hummingbird Bakery.

This is inspired partly by the emirate's graceful and historic Arabic dhow sailing boats, and partly by the city's constant evolution through transformative construction.

The conceptual idea comes from the artist's search for her story in relation to space and time of the given locations.

Creating abstract shapes made out of aluminium truss and scaffolding poles, the artist applies negative space sculpture to define the object with a construction inspired metal frame.

The sail captures a moment of work-in-progress, while the truss symbolises the state of any form or object that has an indelible identity thus crafting a necessary base and core to provide protection and support.

Emirati designer Zeinab Al Hashemi is a conceptual artist, specialising in site specific installations, modern sculpture and public space art.

Her ongoing search on the subject of space and time has been invariable throughout her practice.

Through this search, Al Hashemi brings to the forefront in her medium what would usually be overlooked.
Source: Emirates 24/7