Discover the beauty of nature through 'Art of Nature exhibition' at Umm Al-Emarat park
Oryx, forests and islands - we are not talking about a country in the US or Europe - we are talking about Abu Dhabi. You can see the proof of the rich natural diversity manifested at one event: The 'Art of Nature' exhibition at Umm Al-Emarat park. The exhibition is proof of the abundant nature that exists from its coastline and archipelago of islands up to mountains to its north and east. The country's landscape is dominated by vast sand dunes, dry riverbeds and salt flats.
The exhibition is curated by the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency - and the biodiversity of the UAE. Twenty artists are participating in the exhibition which is organized as part of the Abu Dhabi Festival. The exhibition is divided into four themes - landscapes, sea, animals and plants. Each artist tried to merge with these elements in order to create and deliver a certain message through their own experiences.
Landscape
In an experiment to find himself and understand more about the essentials of surviving, Italian-American Roberto Lopardo, a photographer based in Dubai, travelled to an isolated island Bu Tinah, which in 2011 was shortlisted as one of the 'New seven wonders of nature', to spend 24 hours by himself and took 1,440 images, all shot on a digital camera, and documented every minute of his stay with a photograph.
Palestinian-Kuwaiti photographer Tarek Al-Ghoussein spent three days photographing some of the islands surrounding Bu Tinah. Ghoussein positioned himself amid nature and in the photographs to become part of the landscape, interacting with this relatively untouched environment while engaging with issues of identity.
Sea
The sea and its marvelous discoveries and relationship cannot be translated but through the artwork of Amer AlDour and Amer Al-Husaini by fabricating a 600 fishing weights from Deira on the Dubai Creek suspended on nylon threads at different heights, creating a form of waves. The carpet of fishing weights hangs above the floor as a constant reminder to protect what lies beneath. The work is not only a tribute to the sea and its many blessings, but also a subtle comment on the need to protect the waters of the Arabian Gulf from overfishing.
Similarly, 'Wave' by Irish ceramicist Michael Rice addresses issues of effect-driven reactions, indicating how energy is dispersed through natural systems such as water ripples on the sea's surface or the repetitive sound in an echo.
Animals
Artist Amer Aldour, who was trained in architecture and engineering, took advantage of his skills to take us on a journey and show us the cyclical motion in nature. Admiring falcons, he was able through his artwork 'Flight' to show us the dreamy movement of its wings. "What I find interesting in nature is observing cyclical or repetitive patterns, especially in movement. I always feel the urge to translate these into abstract mechanical or man-made movements. My inspiration for 'Flight' came from the physicality of the falcon. When we see it normally, we see it static, yet the scale, span, the width of its wings and repetitive flapping while it is flying is quite spectacular. We wanted to capture that movement and reflect it in an artwork,' he said.
Ranim Orouk shows 3-D prints of the antlers of the disappearing iconic species, the Arabian oryx, which were at one time so endangered that there were only four left. Sheikh Zayed, the founding president of the UAE, famously took them to Al-Ain Zoo, where they were repopulated.
Plants
Light also plays a vital role in the last commission of the exhibition titled 'Inside the City - Beyond the City' by Palestinian artist Hazem Harb. Following two visits to the mangrove national park in Abu Dhabi, Harb created a three-part installation consisting of heavy blocks of wood in which mounted acrylic panes feature superimposed photographs of the mangroves at different times of the day. Juxtaposing the natural and urban environments (the mangrove national park lies in the urban heart of the UAE capital), the incorporation of light in the piece becomes, as the artist describes, "an unfinished dialogue between light, space, time and the viewer".
This exhibition is a way to get in touch with the beauty of nature after the world of technology and moderation have swallowed us, and to teach our children the importance of protecting nature in all its forms.