Abdullah Al Saadi
Despite – or perhaps in reaction to – the rapid urbanisation of the UAE, Al Saadi explores the evolution of the relationship between humans and their surroundings. His examinations of nature are meticulous; his creative process echoes the methodologies of scientific inquiry and classification. Al Saadi’s work juxtaposes nature and culture, using an elaborate, unique symbolic language.
Ebtisam Abdulaziz
Abdulaziz works with video, photography and performance art, which are transformed into final pieces via her installation process. Thematically, her works focus on human narratives, exploring social constructions and power structures. In describing her works, Abdulaziz says that the purpose of her work is to document the spectrum of human experience.
Layla Juma
Currently, Juma’s work takes the form of computer-generated drawings in which the artist analyses the intersections of recurring geometric forms. Conceptually, her new work alludes to both the fragmentation and intersection of human experience. It is a meditation on the way we interact with nature via lines, geometric forms and spatial arrangements.
Mohamed Al Mazrouei
Al Mazrouei’s artworks are categorised as part of the neo-expressionist movement, yet the artist himself deliberately attempts to distort and even transcend traditional artistic and intellectual boundaries. His paintings explore themes of rage, desire and petulance. Stylistically, his use of pronounced brush strokes, line and colour forsake traditional painting in favour of provocative imagery that conveys the distorting effect of emotion on the human form.
Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim
Ibrahim’s interests in the circular form, archaeology and land art enabled him to conceptually explore the fleeting nature of time and the omnipresent process of decay. His works, therefore, physically exemplify one moment in an eternal process of evolution, both claiming an identity outside of the cycle of nature and yet participating in the process of natural evolution.
Mohammed Kazem
Kazem works primarily in photography, capturing images of himself in the midst of performance. His work examines larger social forces and issues, by employing his own body as a metaphor for his personal experience and biography. It is through that subjective experience that Kazem conceptualises and attempts to understand how the forces of globalisation, environmental sustainability and materialism transform his culture into a modern society.
• Excerpts taken from the Emirati Expressions catalogue
aseaman@thenational.ae
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
Match info:
Burnley 0
Manchester United 2
Lukaku (22', 44')
Red card: Marcus Rashford (Man United)
Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
more from Janine di Giovanni
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Selected fixtures
All times UAE
Wednesday
Poland v Portugal 10.45pm
Russia v Sweden 10.45pm
Friday
Belgium v Switzerland 10.45pm
Croatia v England 10.45pm
Saturday
Netherlands v Germany 10.45pm
Rep of Ireland v Denmark 10.45pm
Sunday
Poland v Italy 10.45pm
Monday
Spain v England 10.45pm
Tuesday
France v Germany 10.45pm
Rep of Ireland v Wales 10.45pm
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What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
