When Expo 2020 Dubai closes at the end of March next year, the new four-square-kilometre area will become District 2020, billed as a model global community that incorporates art throughout the mixed-use site. This makes Expo’s visual arts programme one of particular permanence: the artworks are cast in steel, welded on to plinths and, literally, set in stone.
One of the largest works on show will be a near five-metre-high sculpture by Kuwaiti artist Monira Al Qadiri, whose analyses of the Gulf’s past and future have made her an important Khaleeji chronicler. The work is part of her series focusing on the small drill bits – about the size of a hand – that bore into the sand or seabed to extract oil.
“I’ve made these sculptures before, but this is the best I’ve ever done,” says Al Qadiri of her new piece, Chimera. “The size, the iridescence of the oil – we were able to get it just right. The colour changes throughout the day based on the light, and the size means that you can only ever see a part of it.”
Al Qadiri enlarges the proportions of drill bits so that the sheer weirdness of their shapes comes into focus – the pearl-like nobbly bits that help to drill down, the nose-like cone that creates the hole in the ground, the tentacle-like sides that wick sand away. They appear prehistoric and futuristic, like ungainly sea monsters that have crawled on to the shore.
The work’s title might seem to reinforce its creature-like aspect, but it is taken from the industry name for the drill bit. The shape's evocative oddness comes ready-made, something that also must have struck designers there, since "chimera" is the word for a creature composed of different body parts. Al Qadiri coats the objects in a shiny, green-and-pink paintwork that imitates the iridescence of the drill bit’s prize: the oil.
The work connects the Gulf’s history of pearl diving to its present as an oil-rich economy. While pearl diving is often thought of as a “pre-history” distinct from today’s use of oil, Al Qadiri’s attention to the lived practice of the two industries draws out their similarities: men, such as her own Kuwaiti grandfather, diving down to the seabed to extract its wealth, much like these drills that now reach farther down in search of black oil.
“What is oil but trapped ancient sunlight, or the remains of ancient beings that have been compressed and transformed through time?” she asks. “My dream is to have the drill bits installed as public sculptures across all the Gulf countries. They are a self-portrait of this generation, which has exhaustively mined the seabed in order to extract its goods. I imagine these as bodies from a more sustainable future, almost as if I am commemorating this current moment by looking at it from the point of view of the future.”
As a public sculpture towering over the site, its colours make it seem altogether alien from the neutral tones of the built environment, and already the site's curator, Tarek Abou El Fetouh, says that construction workers and passers-by are stopping to contemplate the peculiar object.
Time and perception are the subjects of the exhibition, which the Egyptian-born curator put together by thinking through the ideas of Arab astronomer and mathematician Ibn Al Haytham’s Book of Optics, a tract written during the Islamic Golden Age. The treatise explains how objects are seen by the eyes and understood by the brain.
“The fact that this is the largest and most diverse World Expo ever makes it into an image of the world,” says Abou El Fetouh, who also co-curated the Sharjah Biennial in 2009 and Durub Al Tawaya in Abu Dhabi from 2013 to 2019. “In the Book of Optics, Ibn Al Haytham writes that the recognition of the full picture is formed in the imagination. It teaches us the power of imagination – which is necessary in any attempt not just to know something, but simply to see it.”
All but one of the 11 artworks are new commissions and they root their responses to this idea in the natural world – using earthy materials, reflecting on man's relation to the environment or utilising the light and shadows that make sundials of all public sculptures, particularly in the sun-streaked climate of the Gulf.
Ramallah artist Khalil Rabah installed a cone, a dome and a brass spindle on top of marble flooring, with an engraved diagram. The works are inspired by instruments invented during the time of Ibn Al Haytham that measure a site’s latitude by the sun and small objects. Rabah's sculptures will accurately show the latitude of where a visitor is standing at the Expo site in Jebel Ali.
“This is something quite important,” says Abou El Fetouh. “I wanted to underline that we are on one precise point on the planet.”
This idea is also behind Nadia Kaabi-Linke’s work. The Tunis-born artist, who lives in Berlin, recorded the shadow of a bicycle through the course of one specific day at the Expo site. The artist then cast her ghost-like version of a bicycle – made from the shadows of the sun and the moon – into steel contours, which will be embedded into the pavement.
Other artists considered the idea of travel and world-making. British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare will show one of his Wind Sculptures, in a new pattern, commissioned especially for Expo and hand-painted on to the work's enforced fibreglass. The sculpture mimics a large piece of fabric that appears to be blowing in the wind.
Other artists participating include Haegue Yang, Olafur Eliasson, Hamra Abbas and Abdullah Al Saadi. Meanwhile, works by UAE artists Afra Al Dhaheri and Asma Belhamar will be shown in a section curated by Munira Al Sayegh and Mohammed Al Olama.
For Abou El Fetouh, the theme distilled his ideas for the ambitious curatorial project, by which he hopes to expand visitors' parameters of thought to include past millennia, the future and the Earth's existence among the cosmos.
“There is a theory that the placement of the Pyramids of Egypt reflects the constellations in the sky,” he says. “The idea has been discredited, but I love it. Before there were cities and electric lights, our ancestors were able to look up and see the stars at any time. They thought of the world entirely differently than we do. I thought to myself, 'What if we bring back the stars into this site?'”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE squad to face Ireland
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri (vice-captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
More on Quran memorisation:
My Country: A Syrian Memoir
Kassem Eid, Bloomsbury
Tour de France Stage 16:
165km run from Le Puy-en-Velay to Romans-sur-Isère
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The Indoor Cricket World Cup
When: September 16-23
Where: Insportz, Dubai
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
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
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
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Rajasthan Royals 153-5 (17.5 ov)
Delhi Daredevils 60-4 (6 ov)
Rajasthan won by 10 runs (D/L method)
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
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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
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
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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
