Symphoniae, the new exhibition at NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery, opens next week

The NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery has announced that its next show at The Project Space will open to the public on June 7. Symphoniae is an exhibition of the latest works by Dubai-based Brazilian artist Elizabeth Dorazio. The exhibition revolves around the creation of harmony from disparity, the simple juxtaposition of objects in each artwork performing the function of weaving together what is apart. The works of Symphoniae, hovering between sculpture and craft, evoke a kind of permanent movement, arising from the dynamic interactions between their disparate but complementary parts. Dorazio employs the temperamental medium of egg tempera alongside more popular art techniques. Al khous palm frond weavings, crafted by Emirati Bedouin women, spiral throughout the work, forming the basic backdrop across which dance other elements, some crafted, some appropriated. The eclectic components of the show both invite a multiplicity of interpretations, and raise the question of what it means to “cannibalise” other cultures. By appropriating materials that were constructed by the hands of others, Dorazio has incorporated these other voices into her works. “I work with layers, much as a geologist works with layers. Or how an anatomist works with layers. My layers peel away, to reveal. They overlap, narrating new formations ... I am interested in layers beyond mere artistic technique. To me, layers are accumulated memory, history, time. My practice is driven by the twin urges to deconstruct and to reconstruct,” Dorazio said.