The latest video by Bassam Al-Sabah, I Am Error (2021), on view at the independent art space Gasworks in London, until September 19, is deliberately unreal. A male character, vaguely resembling a video game avatar, floats in a glossy sea that has the perturbing consistency of sticky jelly and the transparent colour of water viewed from below. He tumbles and twists about, but can’t seem to extricate himself from the viscous mess.
Like all of Al-Sabah’s work so far, I Am Error is steeped in CGI, and its video game-like avatars play out feats beyond superhuman strength. The Iraqi-born artist works with CGI “like a painter”, he says, moving scenarios of combat and struggle towards languorous, disturbing stories that luxuriate in odd textures and surreal transformations, with searching, almost lost characters.
It demonstrates a fascination with the theme of violence, which seems to have two sources for the artist, who lives in Belfast. On the one hand, it comes from an early love for video games, which he played in Baghdad, and on the other, his family’s experience during the Second Gulf War.
In 2004, when Al-Sabah was 9, he, his mother and sister fled the Iraqi capital, moving to the Republic of Ireland, where his father had been working. They left their house, and his grandmother, behind.
These details appear in one of Al-Sabah’s early works, the video Fenced Within the Silent Cold Walls (2018). In it, he imagines his grandmother walking through their old house, emptied of its inhabitants, but brought to life again by Al-Sabah’s rendering of its thick, grey walls, floating stairs and upstairs majlis. A tangle of thick tentacles reach out of the radio and TV, in black and army camouflage, filling the house. Little by little, the scene is pocked apart by glitchy, floating orbs, as the sound of bombing rumbles outside. In the final sequence, his grandmother describes how she burnt the family photographs to forget her once happy life.
The video is devastating – and also became a turning point for Al-Sabah. “When the show [at the Lab Gallery in Dublin] was happening, a few people cried,” he recalls. “And something happened to me that I hadn’t expected emotionally. I didn’t want my experience to be so there. Now, I want to find a space that feels not so personal to me, so that somebody else can think about other forms of trauma or other forms of violence that aren't so specific to my experience.”
While still remaining in the lexicon of CGI and video games, he began searching for universal resonances. In a series of subsequent videos, such as Dissolving Beyond the Worm Moon (2019), he unpacked the amped-up masculinity that video game avatars embody, with their beefed-up muscles and warlike stance, in contrast to the real trauma that such bodies would endure. Other works consider the moral hazard of video games, where rampant violence occurs, but remains on screen.
Repercussions, he notes, are not a given in video games – and nor are they in real life..
Violence persists in Al-Sabah's work, but it is febrile, malleable: a character chained down is as likely to transform into a yellowy crystal as to meet a gory end. Conflict is more gestured at than depicted, in the image of a bunker on a desolate hill, for example, or the muscles of a soldiering avatar. But the stories are also open-ended, and aesthetically mesmerising. Fine renderings of flowers and plant fronds dot the videos like unexpected oases, and smooth, liquid effects offer the constant possibility of change.
Growing up in sanctions-era Iraq, video games provided Al-Sabah with an introduction to pop culture, in contrast to the TV shows that captivated older generations. Because he couldn’t understand English, he gravitated towards games with rich visual languages, such as Metroid, an early Nintendo game that was developed in the late 1980s.
The end sequence in Metroid’s second game stood out for him in particular. The story’s protagonist, a bounty hunter, finds the last baby metroid and looks after it. The infant thinks the character is its mother, even though she is the one who has destroyed the metroid world.
Years later, he watched an interview with one of the creators of the game. “He said he wanted the ending sequence to force you to think about the fact that you've killed an entire race,” Al-Sabah recalls. “It’s told in a very quiet, really wonderful way. The game has been very impactful on me. It’s made me think about what power means.”
Though his videos stage the idea of someone falling into a vortex of CGI, the exhibitions have become a place for him to question how CGI can live in reality. He supplements his videos with 3D-rendered sculptures, a technique he learnt while working an odd-job at a 3D printer centre. Like a sculptor with a chisel, he works with software whereby an object is cut away from a block of foam rather than being built up through layers.
His goal, he says, is to find the place where his artwork looks realistic – but also somehow wrong. The work skirts close to the “uncanny valley”, or the moment in which CGI-rendered characters appear so realistic that they become eerie, almost repugnant. But his heart appears to lie with the potential of glitches and error.
“I like the idea of going to 95 per cent real, but then pulling back on like the last 5 per cent, where you see some of the kind of strange effects that happen when things go wrong in that software,” he says. When things are too perfect, "they feel a little bit removed from humanity".
I Am Error is on view at Gasworks in London until Sunday, September 19. More information is available at gasworks.org.uk
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
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 five pillars of Islam
INDIA%20SQUAD
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
THE BIO
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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Dimitar Berbatov (Kerala Blasters) Word has it that Rene Meulensteen, the Kerala manager, plans to deploy his Bulgarian star in central midfield. The idea of Berbatov as an all-action, box-to-box midfielder, might jar with Spurs and Manchester United supporters, who more likely recall an always-languid, often-lazy striker.
Wes Brown (Kerala Blasters) Revived his playing career last season to help out at Blackburn Rovers, where he was also a coach. Since then, the 23-cap England centre back, who is now 38, has been reunited with the former Manchester United assistant coach Meulensteen, after signing for Kerala.
Andre Bikey (Jamshedpur) The Cameroonian defender is onto the 17th club of a career has taken him to Spain, Portugal, Russia, the UK, Greece, and now India. He is still only 32, so there is plenty of time to add to that tally, too. Scored goals against Liverpool and Chelsea during his time with Reading in England.
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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
GAC GS8 Specs
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Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
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Veil (Object Lessons)
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Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
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Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
