In the largest show of Lebanese art in London thus far, the exhibition Lebanon | Untitled puts a spotlight on the country's modern and contemporary artists.
Organised by Janet Rady Fine Art and Artscoops – an online platform for Mena art which holds pop-up exhibitions – the event is running until Sunday at Cromwell Place. More than 50 artworks by 33 artists, within the framework of Cromwell Place’s Middle East curated moments for June.
The exhibition includes paintings, mixed media pieces and sculptures by renowned artists such as Willy Aractingi, Laure Ghorayeb, Hussein Madi, Etel Adnan, Alfred Basbous, Helen Khal and Nadia Saikali.
Lebanon | Untitled marks Artscoop's first physical show outside of Lebanon, with plans for new shows in the UK, UAE and Saudi Arabia. The platform was founded by mother and daughter May and Raya Mamarbachi.
“We want people to see that Lebanon doesn’t only have bad news coming out of it, but that we also have art. This is what has been supporting Lebanon all this time,” May Mamarbachi tells The National. “If you go down to Beirut now we have plenty of new galleries opening and people are turning to arts.
“Life is coming back to the country and it's not only catastrophes, but it’s not only now this has happened, which is why the modern art half is important,” she adds. “We’re giving a comprehensive look – from the very famous artists to some newer, smaller-scale ones.”
Notable highlights include Aractingi’s painting The Crow and the Fox, from his well-known series illustrating the fables of Jean de La Fontaine. The showing is rare, as the Aractingi Foundation, run by his daughter, only releases three fables per year into the market.
“We're also showing a Huguette Caland. It's a totem painting from 1994, which is very rare to find, you have to find them from people's private collections, not on the open market,” Raya Mamarbachi says.
“Another personal favourite is I Love Beirut, a painting by Jamil Molaeb, which symbolises the architectural roots of the city, showing all the important [locations] of Beirut. As we're doing the show on Lebanon, it’s great to have a cityscape of something related to its landscape.”
On the contemporary side, prize-winning artist Zena Assi shows her first foray into ceramics, with two works titled Beirut I Love You and My City on a Green Brick Wall, adorned with busy sketches of buildings, people and Beirut imagery glazed on to the vases using transfers.
“I made them the old fashioned way with the handmade coil techniques, to get them as close as possible and give the feel that it’s an artefact that has been excavated,” says Assi. “Vases and plates have always been used to tell stories about cities, heroes, wars, gods and mythology, and I chose to tell the story of Beirut and its people.
“The piece Beirut I Love You is inspired by a tag spray-painted on the walls. This piece is all about how the people are expressing themselves on the walls of Beirut, which reflect everything the city is going through,” she adds. “The other piece has a chandelier painted at the top in the sky [of the city]. For me, the chandelier is a symbol of my home, so the piece is about migration and the baggage that you carry with you when you move from one place to the other.”
Meanwhile, composer and visual artist Zad Moultaka, who represented Lebanon at Venice Art Biennale in 2017, presented Acqua Alta I, a new canvas painted in blue, turquoise and gold that references the beauty of Venice, where Moultaka lives part of the time.
Two older works related to Lebanon’s landscapes – especially the views in Tannourine – are also exhibited. They use the fragility of paper to build layers when soaked in watered-down paint. The torn and crumpled wet papers are then left to dry, forming a landscape.
“I had an experience when I was in the mountains in Lebanon, and I saw that the landscape was without any perspective or horizon that day,” says Moultaka. “I felt like there could be something behind what I was seeing, like a veil, and that if I punched through this landscape, maybe I would find something behind it, which is why the layers are so important.
“The layers also signify layers of memory, how we can peel back layers to see what’s in the past,” he adds.
Lana Khayat, who held her first solo show in 2022 at London’s Saatchi Gallery, often creates artworks related to nature and inner contemplation. Her painting Wilderness uses swirling brunch strokes to create expressionist artworks that allude to forest canopies or untamed landscapes.
“Each painting I create is a conversation I have at the certain time with nature,” Khayat tells The National. “In my work, there is also an undertone of calligraphy, because I come from a family of artisans who works on Syrian Ajami rooms, taking a wood panel and turning into a beautiful piece of sculpture.
“I was inspired by those rooms and I grew up seeing my dad and grandfather creating them” she adds. “I wanted to make my mark as the first female artist in the family and through trial and error created my own artistic language.”
Artscoops prides itself on being able to offer affordable art as well as high-end pieces, by having a range of prices for all, which is reflected in the Cromwell Place show. Alongside the well-known modern pieces and established contemporary artists are also emerging talents.
“We're an inclusive platform, so we start at $100 all the way to $100,000, so we don't alienate people not wanting to spend thousands on a painting,” Raya Mamarbachi says. “In this show, we have pieces starting at $1,000 because we thought it was very representative of what we stand for.”
The next physical show from Artscoops is set to take place in Beirut from June 27 to July 8, showing a rare collection of vintage Air France business class menus from the 1980s that have been illustrated by Aractingi, depicting more of Fontaine’s fables.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Countries offering golden visas
UK
Innovator Founder Visa is aimed at those who can demonstrate relevant experience in business and sufficient investment funds to set up and scale up a new business in the UK. It offers permanent residence after three years.
Germany
Investing or establishing a business in Germany offers you a residence permit, which eventually leads to citizenship. The investment must meet an economic need and you have to have lived in Germany for five years to become a citizen.
Italy
The scheme is designed for foreign investors committed to making a significant contribution to the economy. Requires a minimum investment of €250,000 which can rise to €2 million.
Switzerland
Residence Programme offers residence to applicants and their families through economic contributions. The applicant must agree to pay an annual lump sum in tax.
Canada
Start-Up Visa Programme allows foreign entrepreneurs the opportunity to create a business in Canada and apply for permanent residence.
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20The%20Cloud%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20George%20Karam%20and%20Kamil%20Rogalinski%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hub71%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Food%20technology%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%2B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Middle%20East%20Venture%20Partners%2C%20Olayan%20Financing%2C%20Rua%20Growth%20Fund%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
