Johanna Billing's films document partially choreographed events, with groups of young people congregating in a half-manipulated, half-spontaneous project. The dissemination of ideas becomes secondary to the communality of the setting, as her work focuses on collective response and shared experience.
It's fitting, then, that the title piece of her exhibition entitled I'm Lost Without Your Rhythm at London's Camden Arts Centre was created as part of the 3 Series of new commissions, a collaboration among Camden Arts Centre, Arnolfini and Modern Art Oxford to bring three artists to three venues in three years.
And it comes as little surprise that the Swedish artist, who runs a record label with her brother, underscores her work with music. Cover versions of forgotten songs toy with notions of reception and originality and provide an interesting parallel to the art world's obsession with novelty and creation. Elsewhere, upbeat pop songs are juxtaposed against greying environments, providing a strangely arresting spectacle and casting new light on the imagery employed and the lives of the participants.
These subjects are given the dual roles of actor and spectator. Billing's lens travels between the individual and collective, enabling her to subtly point to a face in a crowd, a split-second reaction, a member of the collective that is both interior and anterior to their activities. This double focus is helped by the prominence of music and dance in her films, which allows for defined periods of participation and exclusion. Within these moments, Billing's audience is made aware of the fragility and vulnerability of the individual performer.
In the film I'm Lost Without Your Rhythm, amateur Romanian dancers improvise to some local musicians' performance of My Heart by the Swedish duo Wildbirds and Peacedrums. The film possesses a casual, dynamic cuteness, but this seemingly trivial sense belies an underlying concern with the challenges of location and the identity crisis that post-Eastern-bloc countries face.
Geographical insecurity transforms into increasingly acute spatial uncertainty in Where She Is At, filmed at Ingierstrand Bath in Oslo, Norway. Once popular, the baths are now run down and abandoned, an architectural altar to a changing city. Billing explores the environment dialectically, using the tension between flowing and stagnant water to drive the narrative forward. As the film's protagonist stands rooted, static, but poised for action, the viewer is left wondering if she will jump.
The palpable anxiety experienced in the run-up to this cliffhanging moment is central to Billing's project. Her concern is not just with the final product but the process of its realisation. The creative journey to a polished, completed "end" that a conditioned audience might then recognise as "art" becomes an important element of the work, so that her notion of performance extends beyond the boundaries of conventual cinema. Billing neglects the cutting-room floor in favour of a more honest and lengthier edit.
This process is reflective of Billing's commitment to artistic democracy. Working closely with groups of dancers, performers and musicians, she is given backstage access to a world of rehearsal, ritual and routine. The participatory nature of her work enables her subjects to function in an open, flexible way. Wholly interactive, Billing's work is less voyeuristic and more social commentary. Without being asked, her subjects tell her a little of their lives through performance and include the spectator in their narrative. In tracing their stories, we become another individual in the collective, indulging in private experience in a public setting.
MO
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
SPECS
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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
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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 smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
The specs: 2018 Audi RS5
Price, base: Dh359,200
Engine: 2.9L twin-turbo V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 450hp at 5,700rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 1,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
Company%20Profile
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors