Adel Abidin
Symphony
18 March–18 April 2013
Lawrie Shabibi
Unit 21, Alserkal Avenue
Alquoz, Dubai
T +9714 (0) 3469906
Lawrie Shabibi is pleased to present Symphony a solo exhibition by internationally acclaimed artist Adel Abidin. Curated by Basak Senova, the exhibition opens on 18 March as part of Dubai’s 2013 Art Week and coincides with the artist’s solo exhibition at Maraya Art Centre, a non-profit space in Sharjah dedicated to contemporary art. The exhibition also includes an installation entitled Warqaa commissioned by United Arab Emirates based Barjeel Art Foundation which expands and develops upon his earlier two correlated works—a video and sculpture-based installation (which lends its name to the title of the exhibition)—first exhibited at Arter, Istanbul in October 2012.
In March, 2012, at least 90 Iraqi students with ‘emo’ appearances were stoned to death by religious extremists in Baghdad. Abidin takes this single event and transforms it into an imaginative journey that examines death, the soul’s quest for liberation and the tragic price paid in the name of freedom. Taking as his foundation the philosophical and metaphysical writings of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) Symphony is an homage to these young people and seeks to process the violent effects of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice that exist in many guises all over the world. Abidin will articulate the video and sculpture-based installation by adding a large-scale suspended installation and a video piece along with an outdoor photographic work installed on the exterior wall of the gallery.
A book accompanies the exhibition with essays by Anthony Downey, Arie Amaya-Akkermans, Basak Senova, Daniella Rose King, Didem Yazici and Nat Muller.
This exhibition takes place with the generous support of The Barjeel Art Foundation (who have funded the production of Warqaa) and the patronage of Badr Jafar and Dr. Reem El Mutwalli.
About Adel Abidin
Adel Abidin received a bachelor’s degree in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Baghdad in 2000 and a master’s degree in Media and New Media Art from the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki in 2005, focusing on installation, interactive installations, videos and photography. His multi-media practice explores the complex relationship between culture, politics, and identity. Using a sharp palette of irony and humour, Abidin gravitates towards social situations dealing with elusive experiences and cultural alienation. Abidin has exhibited in numerous group and solo exhibitions such as, The Helsinki KIASMA Museum of Contemporary Art, The DA2 Domus Atrium 2002 Centre of Contemporary Art (Salamanca), The Mori Art Museum (Tokyo), Mathaf Museum (Doha), Location One Gallery (New York), the 17th Sydney Biennale, Akbank Sanat (İstanbul), the 10th Sharjah Biennale, and 52nd Venice Biennale where he represented Finland with “Abidin Travels,” a mock travel agency that promotes tourist trips to Baghdad. In 2011, he presented new work in a string of solo exhibitions at Darat al-Funun (Amman), Gallerie Anne de Villepoix (Paris), and Wharf: Centre d’Art Contemporain de Basse (Normandy). He also exhibited his critically acclaimed video installation, Consumption of War, at the Iraqi Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale. In 2012, he had solo shows at L’Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris), Arter (Istanbul) and Kunsthalle Winterthur, (Winterhur, Switzerland).
About Lawrie Shabibi
Founded in March 2011, Lawrie Shabibi is a contemporary art gallery housed in a 3000 square foot warehouse in Dubai’s Al-Quoz industrial area. The gallery’s mission is to promote the works of relevant, innovative contemporary artists primarily from the Arab world, Iran, North Africa, Turkey and South Asia, engaging the public with art that impacts a cultural and political discourse together with a powerful aesthetic. The gallery represents Hamra Abbas, Sama Alshaibi, Wafaa Bilal, Asad Faulwell, Selma Gürübz, Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Nabil Nahas, Driss Ouadahi, Marwan Sahmarani, Gazelle Samizay, Larissa Sansour, Yasam Sasmazer, Shahpour Pouyan and Adeel uz Zafar.
