Exhibitions
12 May – 16 July 2023
Evaporating Suns
Contemporary Myths from the Arabian Gulf
Evaporating Suns is an exhibition on contemporary myth from the Arabian Gulf that showcases 13 artists. The show unpacks the tension set in the spectrum that lays between myth and fact. Myth is presented as a social function that acts as a marker of time and place. It plays a formative role in understanding the laws of change. Myths allow us to validate belief systems through emotion over information—an evocative hint of a truth is much more powerful than a statistic one, especially when trying to sway a society. The participating artists have worked on popular folklore and myths in the Khaleej (Arabian Gulf). Their work has instigated new fantastical dimensions related to subjects of environment, gender, and societal power structure. In the spectrum drawn, fact is presented in opposition towards myth, two sides of the same coin. Fact is drawn as the solidification of myth, the removal of its magic, and its sanctity: fact becomes the framework that dissolves and demystifies.
This exhibition presents artists from the Arabian Gulf building their universes and rewriting the parallel history of their contemporary societies. Cynicism, satire, fiction, and non-fiction become a host of tools to face a main opponent: fact, truth, and its derivations.
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On view are works by: Fatema Al Fardan, Abdullah AlOthman, Zuhoor Al Sayegh, Asma Belhamar, Farah Al Qasimi, Fatima Uzdenova, Mashael Alsaie, Maitha Abdalla, Saif Mhaisen, Bu Yousuf, Mays Albaik, Alaa Edris and Moza Almatrooshi.
The exhibition is curated by Munira Al Sayegh, Dirwaza Curatorial Lab, Abu Dhabi – in collaboration with Verena Formanek.
Exhibition Design by: Farah Alqedra.