Sometime in the distant future, Earth's inhabitants have moved into space colonies as the erratic and devastating effects of climate change take over the planet. Inside one colony, two individuals contemplate what it means to live under such conditions, where life cycles seem extremely controlled. This is the premise of Nadim Choufi's film project, The Sky Oscillates Between Eternity and Its Immediate Consequences.
On Tuesday, October 6, the Lebanese artist, who lives in Beirut, was awarded Art Jameel’s special commission for digital art. In the wake of the pandemic, the 2020 accolade changed its focus from drawing and painting to digital art earlier this year. It was also developed as a means to provide support for artists to continue production despite the temporary closures of institutions.
This year’s theme focused on the notion of time, and how it has been reshaped not just by the current crisis, but also by modern technology.
Choufi was selected from an online open call that received 200 submissions, with his win bestowed by a jury of artists and curators, including Nadim Samman of KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin and Ben Vickers of the Serpentine Galleries, London.
The jury has also awarded honourable mentions to two applicants, German-Iraqi artist Nora Al Badri for her work Neuronal Ancestral Sculptures Series and Lebanese duo Edwin Nasr and Bassem Saad for the research project Wound Contra Empire.
The Sky Oscillates Between Eternity and Its Immediate Consequences features animations of digital renders of the space colony's interiors and the desert that surrounds it. In developing his concept and writing the script for his film, Choufi says he researched the growth of smart cities and futuristic plans around interplanetary existence.
"The work is specifically looking at the end of cities, or a city during a crisis. I was also looking at these space colonies that are popping up around the world; even Dubai is constructing one of these colonies in the middle of the desert," he says. The artist is referring to the MBR Space Settlement Challenge supported by the Dubai Future Foundation, which is geared towards creating long-term space settlements on Mars in 2117.
Choufi’s concerns are not purely scientific but, rather, more centred on the human experience of such a future. His questions revolve around the development of social organisation within these colonies and how, as an artist, he can imagine lived experiences inside them. One narrator, for example, thinks about how they are “living fossils”, essentially trapped under dome structures, where new species can be introduced and the population never fluctuates.
“The second exploration is about how cities right now operate by trying to consume everything and contain everything within the city instead of being fluid,” he says, referring to the phenomena of urban sprawl and the expansion of cities around the world.
His space colonies go in another direction – sealing off populations under the dome. “The domes have a closed space as an environment, which is also problematic because you’re being selective about who gets to be inside these domes instead of trying to solve a planetary problem,” he explains. Choufi is tapping into the potential ethical considerations the world may face as climate change instigates issues, including climate refugees.
By winning the commission, the 26-year-old artist will receive an artist’s fee of $7,500, as well as a production budget for his project. Choufi is currently working with a team of five, including animator Mario Hawat and editor Antony Maalouf, to complete his work. It will be part of Art Jameel’s collection and will be shown online in early 2021.
Born in Abu Dhabi, Choufi spent his teenage years in the UAE before leaving to study abroad. He was a 2018-2019 fellow at Ashkal Alwan in Beirut and has shown his work at Sharjah Art Foundation, South Hill Parks Art Centre in the UK and The New School in the US.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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MATCH INFO
FA Cup final
Chelsea 1
Hazard (22' pen)
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
The biog
Name: Salvador Toriano Jr
Age: 59
From: Laguna, The Philippines
Favourite dish: Seabass or Fish and Chips
Hobbies: When he’s not in the restaurant, he still likes to cook, along with walking and meeting up with friends.
The biogs
Name: Zinah Madi
Occupation: Co-founder of Dots and links
Nationality: Syrian
Family: Married, Mother of Tala, 18, Sharif, 14, Kareem, 2
Favourite Quote: “There is only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything.”
Name: Razan Nabulsi
Occupation: Co-founder of Dots and Links
Nationality: Jordanian
Family: Married, Mother of Yahya, 3.5
Favourite Quote: A Chinese proverb that says: “Be not afraid of moving slowly, be afraid only of standing still.”
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
The specs: 2018 Maserati Ghibli
Price, base / as tested: Dh269,000 / Dh369,000
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 355hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.9L / 100km
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
More on Quran memorisation:
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The specs
Engine 60kwh FWD
Battery Rimac 120kwh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power 204hp Torque 360Nm
Price, base / as tested Dh174,500
Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Top investing tips for UAE residents in 2021
Build an emergency fund: Make sure you have enough cash to cover six months of expenses as a buffer against unexpected problems before you begin investing, advises Steve Cronin, the founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com.
Think long-term: When you invest, you need to have a long-term mindset, so don’t worry about momentary ups and downs in the stock market.
Invest worldwide: Diversify your investments globally, ideally by way of a global stock index fund.
Is your money tied up: Avoid anything where you cannot get your money back in full within a month at any time without any penalty.
Skip past the promises: “If an investment product is offering more than 10 per cent return per year, it is either extremely risky or a scam,” Mr Cronin says.
Choose plans with low fees: Make sure that any funds you buy do not charge more than 1 per cent in fees, Mr Cronin says. “If you invest by yourself, you can easily stay below this figure.” Managed funds and commissionable investments often come with higher fees.
Be sceptical about recommendations: If someone suggests an investment to you, ask if they stand to gain, advises Mr Cronin. “If they are receiving commission, they are unlikely to recommend an investment that’s best for you.”
Get financially independent: Mr Cronin advises UAE residents to pursue financial independence. Start with a Google search and improve your knowledge via expat investing websites or Facebook groups such as SimplyFI.
PFA Team of the Year: David de Gea, Kyle Walker, Jan Vertonghen, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Alonso, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
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A meeting of young minds
The 3,494 entries for the 2019 Sharjah Children Biennial come from:
435 – UAE
2,000 – China
808 – United Kingdom
165 – Argentina
38 – Lebanon
16 – Saudi Arabia
16 – Bangladesh
6 – Ireland
3 – Egypt
3 – France
2 – Sudan
1 – Kuwait
1 – Australia
