There are artists whose work you think you know, and then something stops you in your tracks. So it was in A Century in Flux: Highlights from the Barjeel Art Collection at the Sharjah Art Museum, when I saw Dia Azzawi's Al-Jawf Masks in person. Dark in colour and sombre in tone, it's a great, brooding painting, with one exceedingly rare element: Azzawi's own handprint, pressed onto the canvas.
Azzawi painted Al-Jawf Masks in Iraq in 1966, three years after the Ba'ath Party coup and during a time of violent crackdown on poets and artists. Azzawi himself was imprisoned for three months, and a number of his works refer directly to the events of that time, such as A Wolf Howls: Memories of a Poet, which is also on show in the Barjeel exhibition. More impressionistic than that more famous painting, Al Jawf Masks is named after a village near Karbala – Qaryat al-Jawf – in the north of Iraq, where Azzawi had been stationed during military service. There he learnt from the peasants and local villagers of folkloric, mythological, and religious stories and motifs that appeared for years afterwards in his practice, combined into new narratives and protests alike. A number of these elements feature in Al-Jawf Masks, such as, in the centre of the canvas, a blue circle suggesting a traditional protective bead, or, just below, eyes that, following ancient Sumerian motifs, are painted black. The spirals on the top of the dark column replicate patterns from bisat, a kind of thick carpet made in Iraq.
And in the middle of the whole composition, you have that hand. What is it doing there?
Technically, it's a reference to the Hand of Fatima – a typical Shia symbol of protection, and one that appears in a few of the artist's other works. But Al-Jawf Masks is a particularly earthy, almost raw painting, and I couldn't stop thinking of what it must have been like for Azzawi to put his hand to the canvas like that. Particularly for a practice inspired by philosophy and ethnography, and known for clean lines and bright colours, it's a revelation to see this impure, imperfectly rendered, physical residue of skin and paint.
It’s a sudden appearance of the artist’s body: Here. I. Am.
It is not surprising that Azzawi, in those fraught political circumstances, would show a fragmented body, nor that he would surround it with protective symbols. In other works of the time, he likewise signalled how the human figure itself was under threat: the world around him was full of violence. But for me, this hand does more than that. It transforms the painting into a performance across time – and if you’ll permit a probably unexpected excursus, I’ll try and suggest why.
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Read more:
The story behind Ai Weiwei's Fountain of Light at Louvre Abu Dhabi
In the frame: Basim Magdy, The Dent, 2014
Louvre Abu Dhabi 360: Check out the galleries from all angles
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Handprints are relatively rare in painting, but they are important: they are some of the earliest known examples of art. Cave paintings have been discovered that date back to 40,000BC and show the outlines of human hands, in sites from southern France to Australia to Indonesia. For one kind of hand painting, Paleolithic humans would blow pigment around their hands, covering the cave wall with manifold stencils.
These works have been understood as some of the first attempts at mark-making and even self-portraiture. Another theory, which is more important here, moves away from the metaphor of proto-canvas and representation, and wonders: what if the ancient humans held their hands up to the damp cave walls and thought of them as membranes to another world? Their pigment-blowing could be the remnant of a ritual that allowed them to access another side – the world of their ancestors, perhaps, or that of the future.
Perhaps because Al-Jawf Masks' handprint speaks of the artist so immediately, and seems so plaintive amid the tragic composition, I can only think of this painting as doing something similar: a literal reaching out to the audience seeing the work, in a different, perhaps happier time. And for our part – do we have what it takes to meet this connection from beyond the museum wall?
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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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About Tenderd
Started: May 2018
Founder: Arjun Mohan
Based: Dubai
Size: 23 employees
Funding: Raised $5.8m in a seed fund round in December 2018. Backers include Y Combinator, Beco Capital, Venturesouq, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Paul Buchheit, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, SOMA, Dynamo and Global Founders Capital
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Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Section 375
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat
Director: Ajay Bahl
Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL
Rating: 3.5/5
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
Fixtures
Sunday, December 8, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v USA
Monday, December 9, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – USA v Scotland
Wednesday, December 11, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v Scotland
Thursday, December 12, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v USA
Saturday, December 14, ICC Academy, Dubai – USA v Scotland
Sunday, December 15, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v Scotland
Note: All matches start at 10am, admission is free
Medicus AI
Started: 2016
Founder(s): Dr Baher Al Hakim, Dr Nadine Nehme and Makram Saleh
Based: Vienna, Austria; started in Dubai
Sector: Health Tech
Staff: 119
Funding: €7.7 million (Dh31m)
The%20specs
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