A sea of objects stretches towards the horizon. Plotted across the expanse of the display case are small and vibrantly coloured items – 1,000 of them, in fact – handmade by artist Lubna Chowdhary.
Entitled Metropolis, the work has taken her 28 years to complete, beginning in 1991 and building over time until its completion in 2019. It is currently on view in the lobby of Jameel Arts Centre, which reopened this month after being closed for weeks due to the pandemic.
The clay sculptures draw inspiration from the idea of ‘horror vacui’, or fear of empty space, hence the dense arrangement of one object next to another. It borrows the concept from Middle Eastern and South Asian art and design, but is also reflected in ornamental elements found in the Victorian era.
From a distance, Metropolis could be mistaken for a model of a cramped city, with buildings, towers and houses barely separated by breathing space. Look closer, however, and one can see how Chowdhary has moulded the objects according to various references, some imagined and others influenced by the urban landscape and everyday objects. Though some objects may resemble one another, each piece is unique, as intended by the artist.
That’s what makes them easy to marvel at – there are mushroom-shaped forms, computer monitors, satellite dishes, arches, facades with ancient designs, along with other bulbous, curled and rounded seemingly alien objects.
Each exemplifies a feat of imagination and fantasy. Together, they mirror much of the world around us. In this way, the artist pushes us to reflect on our built environments and the structures we encounter in everyday life.
Born in Tanzania to Indian parents, Chowdhary was raised in England. She studied ceramic art at the Royal College of Art in London, and has been working with materials such as clay and tiles in her practice. Her preference for glaze gives the sculptures in Metropolis a sheen that still allows the textures of the underlying material to shine through.
Metropolis was first exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2017, and was presented at the Kochi Muziris Biennale in March of last year.
It is on view at Jameel Arts Centre until October. Visitors are requested to book two-hour slots before arrival to ensure that the centre is within capacity. Measures against Covid-19, such as donning face masks and social distancing guidelines, are in place.
More information can be found on jameelartscentre.org
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Your Guide to the Home
- Level 1 has a valet service if you choose not to park in the basement level. This level houses all the kitchenware, including covetable brand French Bull, along with a wide array of outdoor furnishings, lamps and lighting solutions, textiles like curtains, towels, cushions and bedding, and plenty of other home accessories.
- Level 2 features curated inspiration zones and solutions for bedrooms, living rooms and dining spaces. This is also where you’d go to customise your sofas and beds, and pick and choose from more than a dozen mattress options.
- Level 3 features The Home’s “man cave” set-up and a display of industrial and rustic furnishings. This level also has a mother’s room, a play area for children with staff to watch over the kids, furniture for nurseries and children’s rooms, and the store’s design studio.
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
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Explained
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
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What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
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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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Date started: early 2020
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Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
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