The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are considered one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, yet its origins have always been debated. Many stories have emerged over the centuries about how they came into being, some questioning if they ever really existed at all.
One origin story that still resonates today speaks to King Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled the region of what is now modern-day Iraq from 605 to 562 BCE. It is said that the king built the hanging gardens as a gift for his wife, Queen Amytis, who longed for the green landscapes of her homeland in Iran.
It is unclear whether the tower and its lore are a fabricated, poetic creation – or a story based in reality. This blur of history and fantasy, fact and fiction, and the connections between memory and ruins are themes from the story that have also preoccupied Syrian visual artist Randa Maddah’s new body of work. Her inaugural solo exhibition at Tabari Art Space is entitled Hanging Gardens.
“I thought this title would be appropriate because of the themes I’m dealing with,” Maddah tells The National. “When you think of that reference, it’s about being connected to the land, missing the land, longing for it – even not knowing whether the story is true … it makes me think of the in-between.”
Maddah is from Golan Heights in the south-west corner of Syria but currently resides in France. While famous for its picturesque landscapes, it’s a region primarily known for its historical, political, and geographical importance, which has been a constant source of conflict.
Following the 1967 Six-Day War, the region, including Maddah’s village, has been occupied by Israel. The state of Maddah’s homeland has left an indelible mark on her, particularly the notion of feeling an affinity and seeking solace from nature and the land.
Inspired by the countryside of Golan, her work depicts landscapes painted in lush greens, blood reds, and earthy ochres, all bursting with life, from curled and outstretched tree branches covered in blooming pink flowers to roots that dig deep into the ground. “Growing up in a politically tense atmosphere, where nothing can be certain, this is the connection, the only connection I can be sure of, that I have control of, my dedication to the land,” she says.
“The only thing that our people feel is permanent, is the earth. This is why so many of them didn’t leave their land in 1967. They are still connected to the land. Ask any of our elders and they’ll tell you it’s impossible to let go or abandon their land. We are raised to love the land in this way.”
While Maddah’s family is in the Israeli-occupied part of Golan, much of her extended family isn’t. Before mobile phones and the internet, Maddah explains, it was common practice for many families to head to a well-known landmark, Shouting Hill, to communicate with their relatives. Using mega speakers, the families would speak to each other on the hill located near the ceasefire line that separates the Syrian and Israeli-controlled territories.
“We used to communicate to our family there through mega speakers because my cousins lived in the part of Syria that isn’t occupied while we live in the occupied area,” she says. “This is how close we are to each other but also far away from each other at the same time. It’s a strange reality.”
Throughout the painted landscape and the growing flora, there are figures floating, entrapped or fragmented within the landscape. Part human, part animal, half asleep, half awake, metamorphosing or completely in their element, the figures are part of a narrative that we can’t understand in the linear sense but feel connected to.
Here, Maddah is exploring the idea of the collective consciousness, in being connected with all the elements around you. “I was interested in this idea because that’s how I feel about nature … All these different facets – nature, human, animal – I feel they are all connected and create one being, one soul, one perspective, which is why I wanted to combine them visually to represent that.”
Throughout Maddah’s life, Golan has been at the centre of many contradictions. It exists in the blur of opposing forces, spaces, borders, and cultures, between memory and reality, in a state of constant surveillance and uncertainty, living completely in the in-between.
Maddah’s village, Majdal Shams, was attacked in July of this year when a rocket hit a football pitch killing 12 children and injuring 30 others. It was unclear who was responsible for the tragic incident, with Israel and Hezbollah blaming each other. This political uncertainty is not the only one that has marked Maddah and her environment. She grew up surrounded by this political instability in her present and in her family’s past.
“As I grew older and became more curious about our political reality, I would have discussions with my father, and he’d tell me about his experiences as a soldier in the Syrian army during that time and then after the occupation,” she says. “All the stories he would tell me, he’d remember only parts of it or leave out certain parts because they were violent – it made me think about how we edit our memories because of trauma. Again, it’s this idea of being in the in-between.”
Maddah’s paintings, rich and surreal, are all-encompassing with an air of tragedy and beauty. Her serene scenes depict nature, humans and animals existing in spaces between each other, a part of each other and separate from one another all at once. They are the personification of that reoccurring theme in her life and her work of existing in the “in-between.”
It's a thread that connects through her reality, whether being close to her family but not being able to see them or her current circumstances of living in France but not being a French citizen. And despite having the opportunity to leave Golan permanently, Maddah finds it a difficult reality to accept, choosing instead to live between France and her homeland on a permanent basis.
‘It’s impossible for me to leave Golan,” she says. “My stories, the concerns of my work are connected to the nature of Golan, to the issues happening in Golan, by the spirit of Golan.”
Randa Maddah’s solo exhibition, Hanging Gardens, is running at Tabari Artspace in DIFC until October 12
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
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Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
Living in...
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Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
The biog
Profession: Senior sports presenter and producer
Marital status: Single
Favourite book: Al Nabi by Jibran Khalil Jibran
Favourite food: Italian and Lebanese food
Favourite football player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Languages: Arabic, French, English, Portuguese and some Spanish
Website: www.liliane-tannoury.com
Company%20profile
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
