25°22’08.6”N 56°02’57.7”E.
These are the co-ordinates to an “abandoned” infant sculpture that suddenly appeared in Fujairah at the end of last year.
Carved from white marble, the baby is curled up as if in slumber, its eyes closed and lips turned down. It is laid out, exposed to the elements, on the bare ground, surrounded by the rocky Fujairah mountains. Over the weeks, visitors have made the trek to seek out the sculpture – its location remains tricky to pinpoint despite the help of maps – after seeing it on social media.
Jago, the artist behind the work, first conceived of it in 2019 while he was living in New York City. “I saw a lot of homeless people living in the streets. When you have to run around every day to go to work, at some point, those people just disappear and become part of the environment. But I think the image of a baby will push us to stop and do something,” he tells The National.
That same year, he returned to Italy, and it wasn’t until 2020, after Covid-19 struck, that the sculpture was realised. Seeing the effects of lockdown on the vulnerable and the poor, including the homeless, Jago returned to the idea of an infant, a figure that easily connotes vulnerability and helplessness. Within eight months, he made Look Down (a play on “lockdown”), a baby in fetal position with a chain cuffed to its wrist.
In his works, the sculptor, who was born in Italy, draws from personal reflection, but uses recognisable figures and motifs to express his ideas. With clay and marble as his materials of choice, he moulds and carves sculptures that have a hint of the grotesque, from models of anatomical hearts to ghostly figures shrouded in cloth, and even a baby nestled inside the cracked skull of a male bust.
Look Down rested in the Piazza del Plebiscito, a public square in Naples, where the artist resides. It was installed in late 2020, as Italy was tightening its restrictions again owing to the second wave of Covid-19 in Europe.
People touched it, and also destroyed it in some ways, so the sculpture changed
Jago,
artist
Part of the artist’s intention was not only to capture the attention of passers-by, but also to allow viewers to consider what they might have grown to overlook over time and the sections of society that the pandemic has hit the hardest.
Over the course of six months, public interaction with Look Down grew. “When you ‘abandon’ something on the street, it’s not yours anymore. You have to accept that everyone can use or interact with the sculpture in different ways. People touched it, and also destroyed it in some ways, so the sculpture changed. It’s like having a child that eventually has to live in the world and be affected by it,” he says.
When restrictions finally eased, Jago removed the sculpture from the plaza and began thinking about another place for the work. This time, he wanted a location that was more distant and harder to reach.
He thought back to his trip in Fujairah years ago. “It’s a very particular place because you can find mountains and the desert together. You have the sea, mountains and desert, but the sands don’t change as much, because the mountains protect it from the wind,” he says.
Co-ordinating with the Fujairah government, the artist was able to install his work at the base of the mountains of Al Haniyah desert, where it is meant to stay until March before being moved to a permanent location that will be revealed later on. Exposed to wind, rain and sun, the sculpture will eventually be altered and blemished, but the artist says he now sees these changes as part of the work.
With its new location, the work also earned a new name, Look Here. This time around, the artist sought a place that would be less accessible, so that the act of seeing the infant would become more intentional, deliberate.
“If you leave something in the desert and someone spends time and energy to go see it, to take a picture, it means a lot. For someone to do that means that he recognises something about himself in the work, in the image. There’s a connection,” he explains.
There is one significant change to the work from its previous iteration in Naples: the chain is gone. The artist, however, did not comment on the reason behind this decision except to say, “sometimes things happen and we have to accept it”.
Jago, however, says the message of the work remains the same: to compel the public to think about the most vulnerable among us and to cultivate a response of care as we would towards a child. But he also hopes the experience of finding and seeing Look Here among the mountains opens up the public’s imagination and outlook on the world.
“Humanity is curious. Humanity wants to participate and see something new. This is a primordial part of us. When we’re babies, we have something very powerful, we have curiosity and enthusiasm, but as we grow, we lose that. But we need it in our work, our lives. This is our power."
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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The biog
Hobbies: Salsa dancing “It's in my blood” and listening to music in different languages
Favourite place to travel to: “Thailand, as it's gorgeous, food is delicious, their massages are to die for!”
Favourite food: “I'm a vegetarian, so I can't get enough of salad.”
Favourite film: “I love watching documentaries, and am fascinated by nature, animals, human anatomy. I love watching to learn!”
Best spot in the UAE: “I fell in love with Fujairah and anywhere outside the big cities, where I can get some peace and get a break from the busy lifestyle”
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'
Frosinone 0
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Winner: Oh This Is Us, Tom Marquand, Richard Hannon
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
