• A new lease of life
What do you get when two artists who are fierce advocates of all that is home grown and sustainable are invited to recycle Etihad’s old airplane parts? Team Yalla finds out
Two artists head to Etihad’s old airplane warehouse to work their sustainable skills
Azza Al Qubaisi is often referred to as the UAE’s first Emirati jewellery designer, but it is more accurate to describe her as an artist, designer and entrepreneur.
Find out more by visiting admaf.org/artists/azza-al-qubaisi
Tell us about your initiative and the art you create
Azza Al Qubaisi (AQ): From the very beginning as an artist I chose to be aware of the environment, its impact, culture, identity. I initially wanted to study the environment at university but chose art. As a teenager, I was well aware and I understood a lot about the environment, how to recycle, engage in it, and how to express myself as an artist. Dedicated to a sustainable future for my country, I use local materials and I’m inspired by the deep roots of my heritage.
Christine Wilson (CW): Named after the size of my rather small head, Peahead.eco launched 1 May 2020 with a range of handbags and accessories made by utilising Spinney’s single use plastic bags to create reusable tote luxury tote bags (#bagsofgratitude). Today Peahead.eco is an emerging design studio, its products dubbed ‘covid-couture’. Inspired by nature with a passion for the environment, Peahead. eco combines recycling with the quality of slow fashion design.
“Visiting Etihad’s warehouse of aircraft parts during the pandemic brought back memories of travelling around the world and discovering different cultures -Azza Al Qubaisi
Please tell us about the collaboration with Etihad
AQ: The first art piece used seat floor mounting rails as a building motif to create symmetric geometric formations that can be displayed free standing or suspended from the ceiling. Visiting Etihad’s warehouse of aircraft parts during the pandemic brought back memories of travelling around the world and discovering different cultures. I gained unlimited access to amazing materials that I could upcycle or melt into art for my ‘Seeking Identity’ sculpture series. After deconstructing some seats, I have a bigger appreciation for the ergonomics and technology that goes into them – there are hundreds of pieces. I’m already working on a second piece of art by melting and casting the scrap materials I didn’t use for my first installation and I can’t wait to share it with the world.
CW: I was given access to fabric and materials that encapsulate the airline’s interior over many years. Patterns and fabric which won’t ever be seen together again. On one side of the installation the wall of small bags serve to hint at neatly packed luggage and a sense of organised adventure for the traveller. The geometric positioning and method of creation acknowledges the historical relevance of mathematics and trigonometry to the region. Linking a sense of place to the artwork we celebrate the city skyline of Abu Dhabi in the view from the windows. The piece is called Aintiqal, meaning Transition. To me, Aintiqal is a work of time, place and space - on many levels…The intrinsically linked concept of time, place and space refers to the absolute or relative position of people, objects and ideas. Time, place and space focuses on how we construct and use our understanding of location (“where” and “when”).’
Christine Wilson, Sustainable Designer, Founder of Peahead. eco launched 1 May 2020 with a range of handbags and accessories made by utilising Spinney’s single use plastic bags to create reusable tote luxury tote bags.
Find out more by visiting peahead.eco
Clearly sustainability is part of your work but has it always been part of it?
AQ: From the very beginning as an artist I chose to be aware of the environment. My first solo show was in 2004 at the cultural foundation. The series was under the title of L ife and was all about how precious water is. After returning from the UK with all that rain, I realised how rain is scarce and water is valuable in our region, and you have to be somehow sustainable in the sense of being economical in using our water.
“Sustainability is absolutely the reason for my work. We throw so much away and there is no ‘away’, it remains in our environment in one form or another -Christine Wilson
CW: Sustainability is absolutely the reason for my work. We throw so much away and there is no ‘away’, it remains in our environment in one form or another. Instead of allowing these would-be-waste materials to end up causing harm to nature and eventually us, with a little imagination and time it’s entirely possible to add value to them again.