Art installation ‘The Seed,’ marking the evolution of the UAE, is on view in Abu Dhabi
Set among Abu Dhabi’s mangroves, an otherworldly object is perched above the glistening water. The art installation – titled The Seed – is a rotating cube on to which enigmatic images are projected.
Unveiled last month, The Seed is located in Jubail Mangrove Park, where a nightly display of light, sound and music is open to the public.
The giant kinetic art piece is the work of renowned British artist and set designer Es Devlin, known for fusing light, video, language and music in her spectacular creations.
Created for the UAE National Day celebrations, the installation was the centrepiece of the Seeds of the Union show.
Because of Covid-19 restrictions, the National Day show’s attendance was limited to government authorities, though it was live streamed on television.
During the event, images of the UAE’s history were projected on to the glowing cube, while fireworks and performances took place on its surrounding platform. Emirati creatives Kholoud Sharafi and Noura El Neyadi helped to put together the show for National Day. Designer Sharafi worked on the branding, while photographer El Neyadi was the person behind the landscape images of the country projected on to the cube.
The Seed is the latest addition to Devlin’s body of work, which includes setting stages for opera houses and theatres, concert sets for musicians such as Kanye West and U2, as well as architectural runways for fashion shows and immersive installations. Devlin is also the designer of the UK Pavilion for Expo 2020.
The Seed stands as a metaphor for the growth of the UAE. During the National Day ceremony, an Emirati boy opened the show by carrying an illuminated seed to represent the beginning of the country’s union and development.
A narrator explained: “A seed sown in the soil of devotion and a hand generously watering it, wishing to reap the fruits of tomorrow.”
The idea of ecological growth also relates to the artwork’s surroundings, as it is found in the mangrove area of Al Jubail. Mangroves are a crucial part of the UAE’s ecosystem and plantation programmes have been in place in the country since its inception in the 1970s.
While the current light and sound experience available to the public is not a rerun of the National Day show, it does bear similar themes. Visitors can watch a kinetic art display with abstract and symbolic visuals that trace the journey from seed to shoot to flower to propagation.
The Seed is open to the public Monday to Saturday from 5pm. The light and sound
show will play on a loop from 6pm to 8pm. The site can welcome up to 400 guests, who can settle themselves along a newly created beach area that overlooks the sculpture and the water. Spacing between seats follows the UAE’s Covid19 guidelines.
Tickets cost Dh30 for adults aged 18 and older and Dh15 for children aged 7 to 17. Entry is free for those under 6. All proceeds go towards a conservation programme for the mangroves.
Visitors can also purchase refreshments from food trucks on-site, and the venue is accessible for wheelchairs and people of determination. Jubail Mangrove Park also has restrooms and prayer rooms.