DRESS CODE 2011

DRESS CODE PROJECT

FOREWORD
The East, in fact, is precisely the realm of tissue, the place - the combination of places and spaces and traditions - where tissue culture has been more and more deeply varied: among ikat and suzani, among embroidery, damask work, brocade and lace works, among precious silks and satins and cottons, and endless variations of working, textures, colors, braids and knots. The East, in short, is the realm of textile and consequently of dresses: it is also with this huge legacy that the artists who have joined this project had to confront. The realization of which has needed about a year of very careful work and accurate selection of proposals. But we must not imagine that art work in form of dress has resulted in the production of wearable objects that reflect the pattern of Dress Code. This pattern, for the participants, was simply a memory, an empty container, an elastic theme. Their works, indeed, cover all the techniques and forms of expression: from collage to multimedia, from video to photography to installation ... to dresses, but not conceived to be wearable. The protagonist of Dress Code are twelve: all together they cover a vast area of cultures and countries, extended from Algeria to Pakistan and from Turkey to Egypt to the Emirates, via Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. This is already in itself a meaningful result, and a sign that the project has aroused interest and that a variety of extraordinary pieces have been produced, which reflect, of course, first of all the individual creativity (they are indeed artworks in the full sense), but also the experience of each person, the difficulty of the daily existence, the experience of conflict, violence, but also the inspiration of beauty and, last but not least, the sexism, male-female relationship, an especially delicate topic which does not surprise to find regarded and treated with particular focus and dedication from the artists, especially the women-artists. Women -artists: as it often happens, it hits here too the happy exuberance and creativity of women artists of the Arab world, who are capable of comprehensive responses and incisive, relevant, timely, and lucid interventions. Their works focuses on sensuality and sexuality, but it also proves to be a powerful tool for introspection, for narrative and even for a declared, stinging irony. This is the case of Naiza Khan, who presented two objects, a corset and a belt full of not too hidden references to the object which was known as chastity-belt. Objects between love and war, as she puts it: objects made of hard metal and strong, masculine fiber leather, equipped with aggressive protrusions and attractive zippers, but in any case dresses that evoke an armored, defended, seemingly inaccessible body, but also a body who is provocative, ambiguous and terribly sexy. Marya Kazoun has enriched her Baroque and fleshy dress of a number of existential elements that accompany, not without anguish, a womans life: sex, childbirth, the sprawling and almost suffocating wrapping that can characterize the relationship between mother and daughter; and finally, death and decomposition. Her dress is impregnated with moods and reminiscent of some anti-form experience, for example by Eva Hesse. Fatma Bucak has used for her dress a heavy synthetic rubber characterized by a shiny surface that reflects the world and protects the body, placed inside as if in a kind of cocoon. The shape of this dress is typical of the one worn by the archaic Greek Kore (maids), covered, yes, but always provided of an individual and unique face. On the contrary, this synthetic and heavy dress denies the face also the placement backwards of the dress avoids the define any connotations and even the sexual references. The dress makes us whatever, that is all, that is nobody. Nermine Hammam has used the strong emotions of the Egyptian revolution of last January, to produce a work in which references cross and multiply each other: on one hand the Iranian miniatures, a quintessential traditional artistic practice, on the other the ideal warrior, a revolutionary centaur. Camouflage overalls, tiny feet rooted to the ground, Frida Kahlos memories, traditional Arab patterns, in other words, an efflorescence of contradictions and at the center of it all, inevitably, a self-portrait (because it is only by ourselves, from our limited and partial point of view that we get experiences and emotions). Rachida Azdaou has woven a dress, simple in appearance, with strips of white tape, synthetic and almost transparent, marked by irregular patterns of metal wire. A dress which is thin, fragile, delicate but artificial. A sensitive suit that, supposedly, heal deep wounds. A dress unpretentious, designed as therapy for a world too hard and pressing. Samt Benyahia is presenting on this occasion two dresses made of plastic material, very feminine and inlaid with all the precious appearance of traditions of the desert. Her work, in general, is based on the relationship between transparency and decoration, between inlay and light. The dress, transparent, has been made solid and plastic thanks to ancient decorative shapes used all over the Arab world. Blue color on emptiness, gold on blue: the decorative forms evoke ancient traditions, rituals and timeless symbols. The dress becomes a kind of virtuosity, an exercise of lights and shadows, solid and void, inlay and transparency: totally traditional and totally original. Sumayyah Suwaidi uses the pattern chosen for Dress Code as an ideal screen for projecting a problematic relationship, yet smiling, between a double idea of the self: an intimate inner-self and

a decorated, even plumed with peacock feathers outer-self. Because, the dress is also this: a diaphragm, the threshold of a dialectic of existence. Zena Assi and Issam Barhouche have worked together: their intervention consists of two dresses, very different from each other, the first dedicated to the city of Beirut (My city my puppet) and the second to an original raw material made by the shining, golden face of hundreds of bullet - a stunning reinterpretation of the metal clothes designed in the eighties by Italian designer Gianni Versace. Beirut: an extraordinarily fascinating and contradictory city, as the situation of Lebanese women. Free, in fact, according to law but not in fact, free apparently but not substantially. The City dress is a patchwork of contradictory and spurious images, of partial images and graffiti, which seem to contradict each other, attached to the shoulders of the hypothetical model not as expected, with strips of cloth, but with chains. On the other hand, the second cloth, Bullet Points, is an elegant evening dress, for a dress all in gold. The sophisticated style and brilliant appearance speak in favor of an evening gala, a circumstance of great impact and splendor. The raw material, however, are large caliber bullets, dangerous, even deadly offensive elements, woven together by an elegant copper wire. The Arab woman is in fact treated as an object confirm the two authors. Their idea was to create a dress made of shiny golden dots, conveying a glittery luxurious vision of an icon from afar, that takes a completely opposite dimension when one gets a closer look and realizes that the golden dots are in fact the heads of bullets. Male-artists too have expressed strong narratives through works of great expressive power, and often poignant relevance. Beginning with Ahmed Al Bahrani, whose suit of steel, riddled by hits of anonymous bullet, without reasons or mandators, contains a clear reference to the tragic situation of Christian minorities in Iraq: to the essential equality of all men, the artist comments, it is superimposed a dress, a surface immediately mystified as identity. And it is the dress that one shoots, it is the dress that one tries to kill but it is the person who dies under the dress. Fadi Yazigi emphasizes the protective function of the cloth, which protects a fragile body from insults and attacks of reality and society. His work, though softened by the beautiful painted panels that descend like a sumptuous cloak along the foot of the bust and of the large skirt, is more reminiscent of a cage that a dress: even from the collar comes out a kind of suffocating hood. An unlivable dress. Mahmoud Al Obaidi puts his person at the center of a review of the precariousness of any identity connotation conveyed by clothing. In his video, constituted through a sequence of images of himself, half-length, images very similar to those used by police to file or detainees suspected of any crime, he wears a set of clothes / costumes that tackle his identity. To be someone else, just strip and change dress. Ghassan Ali Ghaib made two dresses, significantly titled Home Industry. In both cases, they are made of recycled, recovered material, reintegrated with difficulty in the movement of commodities and of meanings of the world. In the first case, where production is completed, we are dealing with a suit of chain, supported by straps of old wood that evokes the unfortunate palm trees of the Iraqi desert. In the second case, the production is still in progress: from an old sewing machine is emerging the dress on which it is printed a map of Iraq, all furrowed with tears and zippers. It is not certain yet whether the stitching will proceed to the end and pleats along the edges of this devastated country, or if the parties shall stand and the skirt will be split permanently from the bodice. The work is still in progress. Almost a conclusion: it is more clear than ever that todays social arrangements, both those from the Eastern as those from the Western world, are breaking up under the influence of ethnic, religious, industrial, cultural and economic factors. Day by day, we increasingly seem to find ourselves at the terminus of a great dream - the end of a developmental model. In this twilight, or perhaps dawn, still plays a dramatic role the great conflict between humanism and technology: a lot of humanity is left behind, on the road, losing, over and over again, its values. It is urgent, more urgent than ever, that culture and art participate in redesigning the clothes for the new humanity. The one that, in this morning not free from anxiety, is awakening. Martina Corgnati

THE ARTISTS

AHMED AL BAHRANI FADI YAZIGI FATMA BUCAK GHASSAN GHAIB ALI MAHMOUD AL OBAIDI MARYA KAZOUN NAIZA H. KHAN NERMINE HAMMAN RACHIDA AZDAOU SAMTA BENYAHIA SUMAYYAH AL SUWAIDI ZENA ASSI

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Ahmed Al Bahrani
BOrN IN 1965 BaByLON, Iraq. wOrkS aND LIVES IN DOHa, qaTar. I shall pass through this world but once Any good thing I can do, let me do it now For I shall not pass this way again 1855 1988 Diploma, Fine Arts Institute, Baghdad 1992-94 Taught Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts, Baghdad Founder of Mimar Gallery with Architect Hazem Abu Nabaa Qatar STyLISTIC wOrk DESCrIpTION Man is born nude, not aware of the type of dress that will wrap him, in a world where dresses are related to the environments we are born in.hence, we do not choose our dressesthey choose us. It has been a while when I first started indulging in peoples clothes and trying to understand how does it feel when the color of your dress is different from the color of the others dress? Does that mean that we have to hate one another just because our dresses are different? I am yearning for a world where people respect the dresses of the othersbecause we are born nude and will die nude. This is why my work was inspired by an Iraqi Christian dress where it committed no crime but being born a Christian, yet it was attacked criminally. Who gives man the right to kill his brother, where both were born nude, just because he does not wear a similar dress? I hope that we can get rid of all the dresses that differentiate us, and wear one dress: it is the dress of LOVEthis is the only way to achieve a life of PEACE. In the end, we are who we are, and the variety of our clothes produces the colourful mixture of humans in this beautiful & colourful planet we live in. (Ahmad Al Bahrani) S.Grillet 1773-

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS Collective: 2010/LTMH Gallery/New York/Beyond the War: Contemporary Iraqi Artist of the Diaspora 2010/Miami/Sculpture Biennale 2010/Albareh Art Gallery/Bahrain/Group Exhibition 2010/Art Sawa Gallery/Dubai/My Homeland: Contemporary Artist from Iraq 2010/Albareth Art Gallery/Bahrain/A Chair and a Painting 2009/Art Sawa Gallery/Dubai/Contemporary Artist from Iraq 2003/Green Art/Dubai/Contemporary Artist from Iraq 2002/Bissan Gallery/in association with the French Cultural Centre Qatar 2001/Al- Farida Gardens/Qatar/sponsored by Al- Fardan Group 1998/Al Atif Gallery/Sana/Contemporary Artist from Iraq group exhibition 1999/French Cultural Centre/Sana

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS Solo: 2008/Albareth Art Gallery/Bahrain 2006/Dar Al Fanoun/Kuwait 2006/Dar Al Fanoun/Kuwait 2006/Al Bareh Art Gallery/Bahrain 2006/4 walls Gallery/Amman/Jordan 2004/Green Art/Dubai 2002\Al Bida Gallery/in association with the National Council for Culture, Art and Heritage/Qatar 2000/French Ambassadors residence/Qatar

A Dress From A Baghdad Church,2010, Iron/Steel,122x96x28cm 50

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Fadi Yazigi
BOrN IN 1966 LaTTakIa, SyrIa. LIVES aND wOrkS IN DaMaSCUS, SyrIa.
Fadi Yazigis canvas invite to a complex act of appropriating new modes of being, modes that allude to forms of life familiar to us as they flow in monotonous, displaced, and multiplied diverse combinations. The intimacy of these forms transmutes into fantastic realms, and flows in an uncanny mood of a delirium. With ascetic strokes of black on the whiteness of the raw canvas & on daily newspaper, faces & bodies are created and distorted, some framed in boxes, some yearning for a shape, and still others loosely criss-crossing disjunctions of meaning. As if one is perceiving ones own childhood, ones daily existence, desires, hopes & fears. Raw! Might be, but the overall structure is so close & intimate, vibrating the pulse of an artist with an explosive device in his package. DR Maher JARRAR Culture studies American University of Beirut 1999 Mural paintings 230cm x 120cm in conference room at LOREAL Factory (cosmetics factory) 1998 Mural painting 12mx 230m at La Fontana restaurant 1997 Design and build the Nutcracker scenery at Al-Hamra Theatre 1994 Design the decoration of Safar-Barlek play at Al-Hamra Theatre 1993 Sculptured 220cm x 160cm relief at Bushr Alawa Villa 1984-1988 BA in Fine Arts in Sculpture, Damascus, Syria 1992 Mural paintings 3m x 240 cm at Bushr Alawa Villa Fadi Yazigi studied sculpture in the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus. Since his graduation in 1988, Yazigi has been working with amazing discipline as a full time artist. He enters his studio at 8:00 am and doesnt leave it before 6:00 pm for seven days a week. Yazigi uses different techniques in his works; he paints on canvas or newspapers, makes relief and he developed a very personal style in each of them. His talent is evidently present in all his works. As a professional sculptor, Yazigis bronze sculptures are formed in a very exquisite way that is inspired by the creatures present in his black and white paintings; as if they decided to leave the paintings and have a walk around us. Yazigi had numerous exhibitions in the Middle East, Europe and the USA, selling to collectors all over the world. His paintings are also sold between London and Dubai, in Christies and Sothebys auction houses. In spite of his relatively young age, Fadi Yazigi is considered one of the most important Arab artists. STyLISTIC wOrk DESCrIpTION Light comes everyday through the line of life, leaving some spots over the body of memory. What is the meaning of a cover? Is peaceful life covered with security, like the cells over skin, like stitches in a dress, Can that life carry the dream? It is growing since conscious flowered. These dreams of the future, of hope, of freedom, and of wings of ambition, dropped on the floor of reality and got framed by society. Society married reality, rebuilding the dreams, through everything on the dress of society. Yet, the body with spirit is naked and breathing purely. Both society and Reality break the pure holly white buds of childhood, dreams, wings, freedom and hopes. The dress covers the spirit and the body during the loneliness and the fear of cold.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS Collective: 2009/Art Dubai Fair/Dubai 2009/Art Abu-Dhabi Fair/Abu Dhabi 2009/Palm Beach3 Art Fair/Miami/Florida USA 2008/Art & Antique Fair/New York/USA 2008 Art Paris, Paris, France 2006/2007/2008 Art Paris-Abu Dhabi Art Fair/Abu Dhabi/UAE 2006/Ishtar Gallery/Damascus/Syria 2006/French Cultural Centre/Damascus/Syria 2006/Moustafa Ali Gallery/Damascus/Syria 2003/2006/Europe Art Expo/Geneva/Swiss 2003/Gallery Amber/Leiden/Holland 2002/Art Sud/Paris/France 2001/Herbert Museum Coventry/England (Dual Exhibition) 2000/Dead Horse Gallery/Cleveland/Ohio/USA 2000/Jerusalem Fund, Washington/D.C./USA 2000/Artists Museum Gallery Washington/D.C./USA 1999/Al Sharjah Biennial/Sharjah/UAE 1999/International Red Cross Exhibition/Damascus/Syria 1999/The Holly Cross Church/Damascus/Syria 1998/Maronite Church/Damascus/Syria 1997/Latakia Biennial/Latakia/Syria

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 1995/Lebanese Embassy Exhibition, Athens, Greece 1992/2000/National Fall Exhibition, Damascus, Syria Solo: 2011/Gallery Dar Al Funoon/Kuwait 2009/Ayyam Gallery/Damascus/Syria 2006/Gezira Art Center/Cariro/Egypt 2006/Ishtar Gallery/Damascus/Syria 2006/Albareh Gallery/Al-Manama/Bahrein 2005/Ishtar Gallery/Damascus/Syria 2005/Zara Gallery/Amman/Jordan 2004/Dar Alanda Gallery/Amman/Jordan 2002/French Cultural Centre/Damascus/Syria 2001/Dar Alanda Gallery/Amman/Jordan 1998/IFEAD/French Institute for Arabic Studies/Damascus/Syria 1996/Ishtar Gallery/Damascus/Syria 1995/Al Madina Theatre/Beirut/Lebanon 1994/Ishtar Gallery/Damascus/Syria 1994/Al Khanji Gallery, Aleppo/Syria 1993/American University of Beirut/Beirut/Lebanon

Bride Dress, 2011, Mixed Media, 160x95x95cm

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Fatma Bucak
BOrN IN 1982 ISkENDErUN, TUrkEy. LIVES aND wOrkS LONDON,Uk.
... And all amid them stood the Tree of Life High eminent, blooming Ambrosial Fruit Of vegetable Gold; and next to Life Our Death the Tree of Knowledge grew fast by, Knowledge of Good bought dear by knowing ill. Milton, Paradise Lost The duality, created by Bucaks between physical experiences and internal psychological is key for the reading of Bucaks works, since they allow the viewers to experience simultaneously the social and historical in relation to the personal and meditative... These qualities along her very acute visual sensibilities give Bucaks works unique and outstanding qualities Ori Gersht Artist / Professor of the MA Photography University for the Creative Arts London UK In 2002, after graduating in Philosophy B.A. from the University of Istanbul (Turkey) moved to Italy where first studied Graphics and Visual Arts in the Albertina Academy of Fine Arts of Turin (graduated in 2007), then Photography in the European Institute of Design IED, Turin (graduated in 2009). Participated to the Exchange Programme in Contemporary Photography in the University for the Creative Arts UCA, Kent, United Kingdom for 6 months. Has been accepted from the Royal Collage of Art, London, for the photography M.A. where still completing her thesis STyLISTIC wOrk DESCrIpTION The pattern of the dress as well as its natural way of standing in the space can be conceived as an archetypal meditation upon the origins and shared cultures of the Mediterranean. The point of reference is a Kore (maiden), a type of ancient Greek statue depicting female figures of a young age characteristic of the Archaic period. While Kouroi, male equivalent of Korai, were used to depict bare youthful bodies, female statues were always represented dressed in thick drapery. This very classical theme, however, is reinterpreted through a starkly modern use of materials. The texture, dark colour and the weight of the cloth, a kind of synthetic rubber commonly associated with fetishist clothing, help give an impression of heaviness and a sense of being imprisoned. At a first sight, this could be read as the burden of traditions and sexist dress codes. The work, however, is not a simple denouncement of impair conditions in the roles and rights still affecting women in many contemporary societies. As a matter of fact, the dress can also be seen as a protective element since the surface of the dress is dusty on the inside while the outside is polished and shiny a sort of mirror to throw the external world back and cocoon an hypothetical body inside. Besides, the pattern of the dress taking after Classical clothes but also traditional Ottoman kaftans suits not only women but also men. Indeed, a central message the work contends is to be found in the use of synthetic rubber. This very artificial material, nowadays extremely employed in many industrial productions, was largely developed during the Second War World to be used in almost any war machine. The use of rubber creates a direc t connection with the ever-rising dreamlike, anonymous non-naturalness of our modern lives. Contrarily to the ancient Greek artistic tradition where one of the most important aspects of Kore (and Kouros) was the sense of individuality emanating from each statue, the work, even if occupying a tridimensional position in the space, is left empty without a body to fill it. Besides, it is seen from the back, as to cover any evidence of gender or body expression. In this sense, the work does not represent any specific person no matter of their origins, sex, or religion but is all bodies and no one at the same time.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS Collective: 2011/Construct-Folkestone Triennial/Folkestone/UK/curated by Nadia Thondrayen and Ulrika Flink 54th Venice BiennaleThe Italian Pavilion/Academies/curated by Vittorio Sgarbi High Altitude Photography in the Mountains/Rossinire/Switzerland/curated by Nathali Herschdorfer Cairo Award, Museum of Permanente/Milan/curated by Luca Beatrice In Sede Tempi Precari/Turin/curated by Francesco Poli and Elisa Lenhard The Road to Contemporary Art/Roma Art Fair/represented by Alberto Peola/Contemporary Art Gallery 2010 Past Present Future Highlights from the UniCredit Collection, Yapi Kredi Art Gallery, Istanbul, curated by Walter Guadagnini Nuovi Arrivi Get Closer, Turin, curated by Maria Teresa Roberto Contemporary Artists Between Italy and Turkey, Yapi Kredi Art Gallery, Istanbul, curated by Martina Corgnati Art First/International Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Bologna Art Fair, represented Artissima 16/Fiera Internazionale DArte Contemporanea/Torino Art Fair/represented by Alberto Peola/Contemporary Art Gallery 2009 Nuovi Arrivi/ProposteSt. art me up/Turin/ curated by Maria Teresa Roberto Piattaforma 09/Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Modena/ curated by Filippo Maggia 2008/Young Italian Artists/Italian Cultural Institute, Warsaw Solo: 2011/Fall of Man/Yapi Kredi Art Gallery, Istanbul (upcoming) Daughter of Man/Alberto Peola Contemporary Art Gallery/Turin 2009 Melancholia I, The Zandra Rodes GalleryUCA, Rochester/UK/ curated by Caroline Scott

awarDS 2011/Official selection of the doc-film Almost Married/International Festival of Nonfiction Film and Media/MoMA/New York 2010 Official selection of the doc-film Almost Married, IDFA International Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam Nuovi Arrivi - UniCredit Passport Prize for the photograpy series Allegorie della Colpevelezza Presente, Turin 2009 Third place for the photography series Melancholia I in the category People Self portrait, International Photohgraphy Award, Los Angeles Special Fund for the production and the post-production for the doc-film Almost Married, Piemonte Doc Film Fund, Turin 2008 First Special Prize for the photography series Sacred or Profane, IV International Warsavian Artistic Contemporary Photography Festival, Warsaw Best Script Prize for the doc-film Almost Married, Festival Hai Visto Mai?, Siena SELECTED pUBLICaTIONS 2011 Essay by Martina Corgnati, Contemporary Practices Visual Arts from the Middle East, IX Issue 2010 Exhibition Catalogue, Past Present Future Highlights from the UniCredit Collection, Yapi Kredi Edition, Istanbul Exhibition Catalogue, Nuovi Arrivi Get Closer, Turin Exhibition Catalogue, Contemporary Artists Between Italy and Turkey, Skira, Milan 2009 Exhibition Catalogue, St.Art Me Up Nuovi Arrivi/Proposte, Turin Award Winnig Catalogue, International Photography Award, Los Angeles 2008 Festival Catalogue, IV International Warsavian Artistic Contemporary Photography Festival, Warsaw

Anonymous Heaviness, 2011, Dress Made By Synthetic Rubber, 160X70cm

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Ghassan Ghaib Ali

BOrN IN 1964 BaGHDaD, Iraq. LIVES aND wOrkS IN aMMaN, JOrDaN.
1986 Diploma, Fine Arts Institute, Baghdad From Ghassan Ghaib. An Angels Pillow By Farouq Yousif Habits of the stranger within If distinct separation exists between two sensitivities, the first captures images from fantasy beyond nature; the second is instigated by painful images from everyday reality. The distinction is the source of all questions pressuring the artist as he faces the dilemma of his existence: an exiled being whose homeland has been captivated. Restrained by habits that no longer correspond with his emotions, he questions the use of drawing. Beauty is no longer soft. Part of us is finite: part of our youth, spirituality, desire to live, and restlessness. It seems as if immersing oneself into the aestheticism of drawing is treason, or even consumption of an intended deception. It seems to me that the artist has reached a conviction that drawing has lost its ability to generate a language that defies reality. Moreover, if we are to admit that Arab drawing seems to dwell on standards set by the market, Ghaib, to the contrary, has owned the right to rebel against such blind pragmatism. His unique rhythm is embodied in his works ever since he made the decision to break submissive harmony through his cry for defiance. He has opened his eyes and ours to the wound we all suffer, taking the risk to abandon his visual past before he risked facing us with his ideas. His ideas sum mystifying questions concerning the destiny of Art and the fate of humanity. In both he expresses a depth of emptiness: a price humanity pays as it suffers loss in every live moment reflecting negatively on art. Ghassan has discovered that art as entertainment is similar to a cry of the dead. At such a moment of awareness, Ghassan contradicted all the promises offered by his previous artwork, discarding his gallery to question his fate as an artist: how can I continue to be an artist? Accordingly, he seems to have freed his hands from their alienation, deeming the world a wider place.

1997 BA in Fine Arts, Academy of Fine Arts, Baghdad 1986 Diploma, Fine Arts Institute, Baghdad STyLISTIC wOrk DESCrIpTION After period of time and centuries, dress had an intimate relation with the body per life changes (whether, religion, education, sex, and politics) This relation was always loaded with indications and energy that comes out from the body through the dress to the others, this communication gave life a meaning which helped by developing and progressing the human nature. My work was inspired by the condition that my country and I am living where (chaos, separation and longing for the country, and immigration), the main feature of my project is (dress) where I tried to take advantage and recycle the daily used objects and put them back to life along with genuineness.I tried to make transit and familiar into a unique work of art full of dramatic sensation which is intimate with the roots and at the same time carries indications and symbols of intellectual that suggests a thing and represent another.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS Collective: 1986/The First International Iraqi Art Festival/Baghdad 1988/The Second International Iraqi Art Festival/Baghdad 1997/Environment and Surroundings in Iraqi Art Exhibition/ Jordanian National Museum/Amman 1999/Three Iraqi Artists Exhibition/Agyal Gallery/Beirut 2000/Iraqi Art Exhibition/Arab World Institute/Paris 2001/Six Iraqi Artsits Exhibition/Dar Al Bareh/Bahrain 2002/Asian Art Biennale/Bangladesh 2002/Two Artists Exhibition/Four Walls Gallery/Amman 2003/Before. After. Now Exhibition/Deluxe Gallery/London 2003/Contemporary artists from Iraq/Green-art Gallery/Dubai 2004/Artists Books Exhibition/Ten Iraqi Artists/Frankfort Exhibition International 2004/Homage to Shakir Hassan Al Said Exhibition/Al Orfaly Art Gallery 2005/Homage to Shakir Hassan Al Said&Ismail Fattah Exhibition/Athar Art Gallery, Baghdad 2005 Iraqi Art, East West Foundation/Holland 2005/Three Iraqi Artists Exhibition/Athar art Gallery/Baghdad 2005/Seven Iraqi Artists Exhibition, Besan gallery/Qatar/Alrwaq Gallery/ Bahrain/4 Walls Gallery/Amman 2006/Word into art. Artists of Modern Middle East/British Museum/London UK 2006/Mondial de lestampe et de la gravure originale/Paris 2006/3rd internatinal collage exhibition Vilnius/Lithuania

2009/Beyond boundaries Interpretation of 9 artists/Karim Gallery/Amman 2010/My homeland. Seven Iraqi Artists/Exhibition/Art Sawa Gallery/Dubai 2010/Art in Iraq Today part II/Meem Gallery/Dubai Solo: 2001/Orfali Gallery/Amman 2005/Alwasham/Dar Alanda Art Gallery/Amman 2010/Banned From paradise/Karim Gallery/Amman awarDS 1987/The 6th Al Wasiti Award 1996/3rd Award/Contemporary Iraqi Art Festival/Baghdad 2000/Creativity Award/Baghdad aCqUISITIONS Art Center for Fine Arts/Baghdad Jordanian National Museum/Amman Arab Art Museum/Qatar The British Museum/London

Home industry, 2011, mixed media, 150x26x34cm, 18x33x65cm

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Mahmoud Al Obaidi
BOrN IN 1966 BaGHDaD, Iraq, LIVES aND wOrkS DOHa, qaTar.
1999 Master of Fine Art, the University of Guelph, Canada 1998 Diploma in Film Directing, HIF Film Academy, Los Angeles, USA 1996 Certificate in New Media, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada 1995-96 Diploma in Film Producing, HIF Film Academy, Los Angeles, USA 1990 Bachelor of Fine Art, University of Baghdad, Iraq STyLISTIC wOrk DESCrIpTION I have never thought it necessary to categorise my art work, nor have I found it imperative even to name each piece. I read a lot, travel a lot, and everything I encounter affects my work. It is not just when I am in my studio that I am creating art; I think about it all the time. I often work with many kinds of forms and images, but try to delve into them to discover new forms and create new meanings. I compose pieces that I hope will engage and challenge the viewer to reach new levels of understanding, though not without effort. The conceptual has always been the most important aspect of my work, regardless of the medium in which I am working. In fact, it is the concept behind the work that dictates my choice of mediumwhichever I believe conveys my intended meaning best. Needless to say, I do not render concepts for a specific purpose or with the intent of conveying some clear-cut meaning. I am simply doing things, thats all; the concepts are there but there are other things at play as well, and there are many other ideas to seek out. Art is universal and I dont see myself as an artist from the Middle East or from the West. That being said, I am wary of the negative aspects of globalisation. Indeed, something that makes globalisation what it is, is the lack of a critical approach towards contemporary production. This is something I am very aware of, and something that encourages me to find my inspiration not only in art history but in everyday life as well.I draw my inspiration from my readings, from my work as a filmmaker, from everything around me. I cannot feel but connected to the context around me, which is why my work is about the recurring themes of war, displacement and loss of identity. I use all artistic media to convey my vision. Since 2003, everything I do is related to the war. Everything I did up to that point was executed in the right way but I was doing it all for the wrong reasons.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS Collective: 2010/They Welcomed Us With Flowers/Curated By Asma Shabebi/ Al Bastakiya Art Fair (BAF)/Bastakiya/Dubai/Uae 2010/My Home Land Curated By Dia Azzawi/Sawa Gallery/Dubai/Uae 2010/Beyond The War Curated By Gabriele Mandel/Lthm Gallery/ New York/Usa 2005/Dafater Show/North Texas University/Usa 2005/Improvisation Show In Rowaq Gallery/Bahrain/4 Walls Gallery/ Jordan/And Bissan Gallery/Qatar 2002/Solo Exhibition 4 Walls Gallery/Amman/Jordan 2001/Joint Show Bronay Gallery /U.K 2001/The Show Of Contemporary Iraqi Art/Papayl Gallery Chicago/Usa 2001/The Show Of Contemporary Iraqi Art/Exeter University Exeter/Uk 2001/Joint Show Of Contemporary Art/Hotbath Gallery Iowa/Usa 2000/International Print Triennial Of Karawa Contemporary Arts/Poland 2000/Millennium Art Collection Show The Haugue/Netherlands 2000/Joint Exhibition Khoj International Festival/Delhi/India 2000/19Th Annual Mini Print International Exhibition/Cadaques/Spain 1998/Joint Show/Eugenie Gallery/New Jersey/Usa 1997/Four Artist Show/South Gallery/Holland 1997/Baghdad Group Exhibition Medborgerhous Copenhagen/Denmark 1996/Directed Point Blank&Circle 2 Short Documentary Constantan/Canada 1996/The Museum Of Modern Art Of Quebec/Canada 1995/Joint Exhibition Contemporary Arab Artists/Darat Al- Funun Foundation/ Amman/Jordan 1995/One-Dimension Exhibition/Abad Art Gallery/Amman/Jordan Solo: 2010/Fair Skies/A Solo Show In Art Dubai/Curated By George Rabbath/ Art Dubai With Agial Art Gallery/Beirut 2002/Solo Exhibition/4 Walls Gallery Amman/Jordan 1995/Solo Exhibition/Darat Al-Funun/Amman/Jordan 1994/Solo Show/Abad Art Gallery/Amman/Jordan 1994/Show With Ismail Fattah Al-Turk/Rwaq Gallery/Tunisia

1991/Solo Exhibition/Alya Art Gallery/Amman/Jordan 1990/Solo Show/The Museum Of Modern Art/Baghdad/Iraq COLLECTION The Museum Of Contemporary Art/Qatar The Tunisian Museum/Tunisia The International Museum Of Art/Amman/Jordan Sharqa Museum/Uae The Museum Of Modern Art/Baie-Saint-Pual/Quebec The Museum Of Modern Art/Baghdad/Iraq SELECTED pUBLICaTIONS David dArcy, Airport art, post 9/11 the new york observer NY/USA april,14, 2010 Saeb Eigner, Art of Middle East, Modern & Contemporary Art of the Arab World&Iran, London & NY, 281 Across the canvas, Canvas Dubai, UAE, march - april 2005, 1-28 G.H.Rabbath, Mr Obaidi & the fair skies corporation 2010 May Saloun Faraj, Strokes of genius, contemporary iraqi art, 2001, 128-129 Zainab Bahrani & Nada Shabout, Modernism and Iraq, NY,USA 2009 89 Rose Seurel & Adil Kamal, BAGHDAD-PARIS. Artistes dIrak , 2006 42 Canvas dubai, UAE 18, 3, 2010, issue 3 2 Claude-Maurice Gagnon, Vie des Arts, Montral, Canada, et 1998, 171 53 Tamara Nouri, Mahmud Obaidi, in Skin, Dubai, UAE, 2005, 1 pp.114-120 Dia Azzawi, Improvisation, 2005 19 Dia Azzawi, My home land, Dubai, UAE, 2010 Dia Azzawi, fattah&obaidi , Tunis, 1995 James Harithas, Iraqi artists in exile, Texas, US, 2008 Asmaa al-Shabibi, They welcomed us with flowers, cat., 2010 Gayle Mandle, Beyond the war, New York, US, 2010 Adel Kamal Baghdad Iraq, 2000 Ibraheem Alawi Darat al-Founun, Amman, Jordan, 1995 17 Shakir Hassan al- Said Obaidi, Amman, Jordan 1993 Nada Shabout, A century of modern art, Sajjil, Matthaf 2010 G.H.Rabbath, Obaidi, in Contemporary Practices Dubai, UAE, 2011, pp.111-160

Project: Dress Code, 2010, Video Edition Of 2 Copies Plus Artist Proof 90 (One And A Half Minute)

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Marya Kazoun
BOrN IN 1976 BEIrUT, LEBaNON. LIVES aND wOrkS IN VENICE,ITaLy aND NEw yOrk, USa.
Playing seriously (marya kazoun) Marya Kazoun lives and works in New York, USA and Venice, Italy. She grew up in Beirut. In 1984 her family fled the war by moving to Switzerland and later to Montreal where she became Canadian. She completed degrees in Interior architecture and Fine Arts at LAU. In 2001 she moved to NY and completed an MFA in fine arts at the SVA. Her works is interdisciplinary. Her pieces are mainly installations and performances, and often a combination of both. 3D reliefs, paintings, drawings and photos are support studies for her installations/ performances. Every work has a its own narrative. She inhabits her works and plays a central role. Her performances are process-based and often interact with the audience.She took part in the 51st Venice Biennial in 2005 with a solo show Personal Living Space. Some of her participations include, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Modern Art of Klagenfurt, the Sharjah Biennial 8 in 2007, the World Economic Forum in Davos 2008, Pozna Biennial in Poland 2008. In 2009 her work was in 2 major shows in the 53rd Venice Biennale, she will be showing her work at the 2011 bienniale.grew up in Beirut. In 1984 her family fled the war by moving to Switzerland and later to Montreal where she became Canadian. She completed degrees in Interior architecture and Fine Arts at LAU. In 2001 she moved to NY and completed an MFA in fine arts at the SVA. Her works is interdisciplinary. Her pieces are mainly installations and performances, and often a combination of both. 3D reliefs, paintings, drawings and photos are support studies for her installations/ performances. Every work has a its own narrative. She inhabits her works and plays a central role. Her performances are process-based and often interact with the audience. She took part in the 51st Venice Biennial in 2005 with a solo show Personal Living Space. Some of her participations include, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Modern Art of Klagenfurt, the Sharjah Biennial 8 in 2007, the World Economic Forum in Davos 2008, Pozna Biennial in Poland 2008. In 2009 her work was in 2 major shows in the 53rd Venice Biennale and she showed her work in one collateral event of the 2011 Venice Bienniale. STyLISTIC wOrk DESCrIpTION The work is a reflection on the roles, conditions, and aspects of women in those modern times The piece refers to the high expectations set by modern society and the struggle to reach perfection. One can sense their seduction, yearning, eroticism, difference, birth labor, growth, disease, sex and death. The last two being the closest elements on earth how life begins and ends. My attempt was to visually charge the piece with the feelings women go through in the different stages of life The process, fabric, colour, formal aspect of the piece try to convey crudely their personal inner struggles.- Run, run fast! Hide in me, hide! Dont worry about it. Father cant marry you. - But I love him very much.- It cannot be, its against universal laws! Besides there are many kinds of love.Her arms were very long they could carry her. Her tentacles embraced her. She baked a cake for her and fed it to her. She told her she wasnt hungry anymore. The magic donkey was slaughtered, but it all didnt matter She continued to clean the house and dust the glass vases then she picked up the bucket and filled it with water. She was spitting toads from her mouth when he came in. Then they went to bed.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS Collective: 2011 Glasstress 2011, 54. International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia Venice, Italy 2011 Lart de laparence, Venice, Italy 2010 Fragile art, Pergamon Museum, Berlin Germany 2010 Nouveau Grotesque, Treviso, Italy 2010 Art Paris fair, Venice Projects, Italy 2009 Truly Truthful, Art Asia, Miami, USA 2009 Glasstress, 53. International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy 2009 SantElena La seduzione nel segno, 53. International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy 2009 Los Angeles Art Show, LA, USA 2009 Palm beach 3, FL, USA 2008 Glasskin, Hypo bank, Udine, Italy 2008 Layered Defenses, Mediations Biennale, Posza, Poland 2008 Peekskill Project, NY, USA 2008 Emergency, Venice, Italy 2008 Arab Artists Between Italy and the Mediterranean, Damascus, Beirut, Cairo 2008 Pittura a NordEst, Portogruaro, Italy 2008 SEAL, NYC, USA 2007 Cornice Art Fair, Venice Italy 2007 Crumbling Desert Castles, Sharjah bienniale 8, United Arab Emirates 2007 SEAL Benefit, NYC, USA 2007 Art Miami, Miami, USA 2006 Space Juice, Inmo Gallery, LA, USA 2006 Facing 1200 Degrees, MMKK, Klagenfurt, Austria 2006 MFD, Casoria International Contemporary Art Museum, Napoli, Italy 2006 Self-Portrait, Bombay Sapphire Prize Group Show & nomination, England 2006 Beijing Art Fair, Beijing, China 2006 Astarojna Stiklo, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia 2006 Sei Artiste per un Territorio, Galleria Comunale dArte Contemporanea di Monfalcone, Monfalcone, Italy 2006 Art Miami, Miami, USA 2005 Altre Lilith, Frascati, Italy 2005 In & Out, Museo Michetti, Chieti, Italy 2005 Art Palm Beach 3, West Palm Beach, FL, USA 2004 In a Bind, SVA West side Gallery, NYC, USA 2004 Heavenly Bodies, SVA Chelsea Gallery, NYC, USA 2004 Stockholm Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden 2004 Art Miami, Miami, USA

Solo: 2009/Time after Self-Portrait, Marquis, Truly Truthful, Art Asia, Miami, USA 2009/Sightless Eons, Venice Projects, Amsterdam Art Fair, The Netherlands 2009/Steady Breath, Galleria Michela rizzo, Treviso, Italy 2007/Mise en Abime, Marya Kazoun e Debora Vrizzi, 3G gallery, Udine, Italy 2005/Pull Christian, Pull, Pull, Roberta Lietti Gallery, Como, Italy 2005/Personal Living Space/51. International Art Exhibition/La Biennale di Venezia/ Venice/Italy 2004 It s Me, Its Okay, Michela Rizzo Gallery, Venice, Italy 2004 The Intolerable Weightlessness, Tapper-Popermajer Gallery, Malmo, Sweden 2004 Tonight is The Full Moon, Trapeze Artists Crash and Break Their Necks, Xanadu Gallery, New York, USA SELECTED pUBLICaTIONS 2010 March , Arte, Italy 2009 October 10, Financial Times, England 2009, September, Art in America, USA 2009, August/ September, Interiors, USA 2009 July 31,Herald International Tribune, The Daily Star, Lebanon 2009, August 8, LOrient le Jour, Lebanon 2009, July, Exibart.com, Italy 2009, June, Elle Deco, Spain 2009, June, Exibart.com, Italy 2009, May/ June, Vogue Uomo, Italy May 2009 Espoarte, Italy July 2007, http://www.cnntravellermagazine.com/2007/07/01/eco-art/ May 2007, BBC news.com.UK May 3, 2007, Gulfnews.com, Week end review, UAE 2007, April, Universes-in-Universes.de 2007, April 6-12, Khaleej Times, Weekend, Vol.23 issue 9, UAE 2007, March/April/May, Futuro Contemporary Art, Switzerland 2006, November, Artes, Italy 2006, April, Vechernyaya Moskva, Russia 2006, January, Artes Magazine, Sweden 2005, November/ December, Espoarte, Italy 2005, November, Herald International Tribune, The Daily Star, Lebanon 2005, November 11, LOrient Le Jour, Lebanon

The Mother, 2011, Mixed Media; Fabric, Beads, Thread Site-Specific- In Photo: 250 x 200 x 50 cm

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Naiza H. Khan
BOrN, LIVES aND wOrkS IN karaCHI, pakISTaN.
Naiza H Khan is a visual artist based in Karachi for the last 20 years. Her artistic practice centers on observations of gender and its political manifestations, expressed through a variety of media including sculpture, photography, painting and video works. A central figure in Pakistans contemporary art scene, she is a founding member and former coordinator for the Vasl Artists Collective, and has been part of the Fine Arts Faculty at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. Her curatorial projects include The Rising Tide: New directions of Art in Pakistan 1990-2010 at the Mohatta Palace Museum, Karachi 2011 and Holding the line at the National Art Gallery, Islamabad, 2007. Naiza has been selected for the Pakistan Lecture Series by American Institute for Pakistan Studies for 2011.She has a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts from the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art at Somerville College, Oxford. Naiza lives and works in Karachi with her husband and three children.

STyLISTIC wOrk DESCrIpTION Living in Karachi for the past twenty years, my work has absorbed and been impacted by the state of contemporary life around me. Traditional heritage has been transformed and previous structures have been challenged by a collusion of politics, economics and belief. This shift critically informs my work both conceptually and formally. Throughout my art practice, I have been preoccupied with the female body, in particular how representations of gender might produce disruptive interventions within the public space. Drawing has been a core activity, which has supported this aesthetic and conceptual investigation over the last two decades. The practice has also come to comprise a number of traditional and non-traditional materials, including sitespecific installations with henna pigment, printmaking and steel and leather sculptures. The use of clothing began as a strategy to explore the emotional content of the body through attire. Lingerie, amour, straight jackets, and other imagined pieces create multiple identities or personae. These objects find a place between love and war, and are ambiguous in their position of aggression and seduction. They address contemporary anxieties and desires at a time when ideas of self seem unstable and rapidly shifting. Alongside these works, large scale drawings link to discursive and literary influences which inform these sculptures. A primary catalyst has been the influential, early twentieth century Islamic text Behisti Zewar (Heavenly Ornaments) by Maulana Ashraf Thanawi. This text remains popular in Pakistan, often given to young women in their dowry. I began to explore this text for its rich references and for its impact on reforming and educating the Muslim community in India at the turn of the 20th Century, in particular Muslim women. It could be argued that the social norms that women must assume in contemporary Pakistani society are a hybrid of the ideas of this text. These sculptures are part of my enquiry into the nature of the personal and social body politic, as it is lived and felt within the cultural context of Pakistan.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS Collective: 2010 Manifesta 8, Chamber of Public Secrets, Murcia, Spain 2010 Cairo Biennale Cairo, Egypt 2010 Medrar 4th Cairo Video Festival Cairo, Egypt 2010 Svelando Lutopia - Alberto Peola Torino, Italy 2010 Between Kismet and Karma Leeds Art Gallery Leeds, UK 2009 Hanging Fire Asia Society Gallery and Museum New York, USA 2009 The Emperors New Cloths Talwar Gallery New York, USA 2008 Arte Fiera di Bologna Bologna, Italy 2008 Pulse Art Fair Miami, USA 2008 ShContemporary Shanghai, China 2008 Desperately seeking paradise, Art Dubai Dubai 2008 Crossroads Elementa Dubai 2007 Figurative Pakistan Aicon Gallery London, UK 2007 Contemporary Art from Pakistan Thomas Erben Gallery New York, USA 2007 Moving On. Inaugural show National Art Gallery Islamabad, Pakistan 2005 Layers of time and space Ifa Gallery Berlin/Stuttgart 2005 Beyond Borders Art of Pakistan 2005 National Gallery of Modern Art Bombay, India 2005 Layers of time and space Ifa Gallery Berlin/Stuttgart 2005 Beyond Borders Art of Pakistan 2005 National Gallery of Modern Art Bombay, India 2004 Living Masters - Young Voices Alhamra Lahore 2004 Cover Girl: the Female Body and Islam in Contemporary Art 2004 Ise Cultural Foundation New York, USA 2003 Anima e corpo. 43rd Premio Suzzara, Suzzara Italy 2002 Threads, dreams and desires: ArtSouthAsia 2002 Harris Museum Preston UK 2002 Gasworks Studios Artists Residency London, USA 2001 The Eye Still Seeks Ivan Doughty Gallery, UNSW Sydney 2001 Vasl International Artists Worksho Gadani, Pakistan

2000 Another Vision. Fifty years of painting and sculpture in Pakistan 2000 Brunei Gallery London Catalogued shows Solo: 2010 Restore the Boundaries-The Manora Project Rossi & Rossi ARTDubai Dubai 2008 The skin she wears Rossi & Rossi London, UK 2008 Iron Clouds I Rohtas II Lahore. Pakistan 2008 Iron Clouds II Rohtas Gallery Islamabad, Pakistan 2007 Heavenly Ornaments Canvas Gallery Karachi, Pakistan 2006 Bare the fact, bear the fact Chemould Gallery Mumbai, India 2004 Exhale Canvas Gallery Karachi, Pakistan 2000 Voices Merge Chawkandi Art Karachi, Pakistan 1995 La Linea Negra Gallery 7 Hong Kong SELECTED pUBLICaTIONS 2009 Comparing Cities, edited by Kamran Ali & Martina Rieker Essay: Ghostly Sufis and Ornamental Shadows: Spectral Visualities in Karachis Public Sphere by Iftikhar Dadi. Oxford University Press, Pakistan 2007 Memory, Metaphor, Mutations: The Contemporary Art of India and Pakistan, Salima Hashmi and Yashodara Dalmia - Oxford University Press 2007 Women, Gender Representations of Sexualities and Gender in the Visual Arts, in Encyclopaedia of Women and Islamic Cultures (Volume 5) Ed. Suad Joseph 2006 Mappings Art - SouthAsia pub. by Shisha 2005 Art and Social Change. Contemporary art in Asia and the Pacific, Edited by Caroline Turner pub. by Pandanus Books 1997 50 Years of Visual Arts in Pakistan, Salima Hashmi and Quddus Mirza

Bullet-Proof Vest, 2009, Galvanised Steel And Suede Leather, 115x38x8cm Belt, 2009, Metal And Fabric Zip, 28x24x26cm

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Nermine Hamman
BOrN IN 1967 CaIrO aND LIVES, wOrkS IN CaIrO, EGypT. Nermine Hammam is a Cairo-based visual artist making densely composed figurative prints existing between painting and photography. Born in Cairo (1967), Nermine obtained her BFA in filmmaking from New York Universitys Tisch School of Arts, going on to work with Simon & Goodman and renowned film director Youssef Chahine. She also served as production assistant in the movie Malcolm X. Hammams work has been widely exhibited, and is included in public and private collections around the world. With human gesture as a central subject, it seeks out individuals in states of abandonment or altered consciousness, whether through transcendental spiritual ceremonies in different parts of the Middle East or a visit to the beach near Alexandria. She is known for the distinct technique with which she reworks photography, addressing the influence of mass media and market stylization. The founder and creative director of Equinox Graphics, Hammam is also known for introducing art into the public space through innovative design and branding. She is behind some of Egypts most familiar brands, including Cilantro Caf, Diwan Bookstores and the Deyafa group of restaurants and bars. STyLISTIC wOrk DESCrIpTION The following work is inspired by the Egyptian upraising of January 25th as well as the current events in the Middle East. The structure of the work is based on the Iranian miniatures in its layout. While the pattern is taken from photographs I have taken of the Egyptian army that wee roaming the streets of Cairo during that time. The text written on top of the work says what is seen from the sky here the text is in contrast to what is seen in side the earth or that of the psyche at the bottom of the image. Both figures in the work are self-portraits one of Frida Kahlo and the other taken form a turn of the centaury photographs. Each represents a different aspect of the self. One that is introspective and naked and the other aspirational in a worrier gear.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS Collective: 2011 Iman fares gallery Paris, France 2011 arabchangingroom Turin, Italy 2011 artabsolumentparis, Paris, France 2011 Mois de lImage, Deippe, France 2009 IL Corpus Humanus, Almasar Gallery, Cairo Egypt 2009 X Biennial, Cuenca, Ecuador 2009 Photoquai, Museum de Quai Branly, Paris, France 2009 Casa Arabe, Madrid, Spain 2009 The Blow Out, The Empty Quarter Gallery, Dubai UAE 2008 Athens Photo Festival, Athens, Greece 2008 Joburg Art Fair, South Africa 2008 Places and Manners of Worship, The Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki, Greece 2007 Act of Faith, Deraa-kerk, Groningen, Holland 2002 Photo Cairo, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt 2001 Mitigation, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt

Solo: 2011 art basel solo 2011 anachrony, IF gallery, Paris solo 2009 Parco Horcynus Orca, Messina, Italy solo 2009 Escaton, Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art, Cairo solo 2007 palimpsest, town house, Cairo solo 2007 a retrospective 2001-2007, the sultan gallery, Kuwait solo 2006 Ashoura, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo solo 2005 Apotheosis, Karim Francis Gallery, Cairo solo 2004 Metamorphosis, Espace SD, Beirut solo 2003 Cairo Modern Art, Fortis Circus Theater, Netherlands (Group Exhibition) solo 2001 Portrait, Hanager Art Center, Cairo solo

Balls Of Fire, 2011, Mixed Media, collage

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Rachida Azdaou
BOrN IN 1973 TIZI OUZO, LIVES aND wOrkS IN aLGIErS, aLGErIa 1999 : Diplme des tudes suprieures artistiques, lcole suprieure des beaux arts dAlger Prix, bourses, subventions Mars 1997 : Prix dhonneur Rabah Asselah, Gravure Juin 1997 : 1er prix de la grande ville dAlger pour la jeune peinture, Thtre de verdure, Alger. Mai 2001 : Bourse du gouvernement franais pour une rsidence dartiste Marseille de 6 semaines Octobre 2004 : Bourse de lUNESCO pour une rsidence dartiste de deux mois en collaboration avec le centre dart i natura (Espagne) dans le programme des bourses pour artistes UNESCO Ascheberg Juillet 2007 : 1er prix du prsident de la rpublique algrienne pour les jeunes crateurs dans les arts plastiques Postes occups 1999-2001 : Enseignante de dessin lcole polytechnique darchitecture et durbanisme, El- Harrach .Alger 2002-2004 : Enseignante darts plastiques, cole prive le Fennec, Alger Depuis 2001 : Illustratrice de livre pour enfant, ENAG, DALIMEN, AFAK ... Depuis fvrier 2007 : Enseignante darts plastiques, Ecole Artissimo, Alger STyLISTIC wOrk DESCrIpTION My dress is made of strips of tape at gas and black wire. It is sutured with simple nodes and sometimes to strengthen all with a double knot. I made it fragile, quiet, without any pomp. It is silent as all his wounds that life deals and that we must heal. It is an image of the woman who created the cover from that. We expect that the sutures are resorbed, the flaps fall the wounds heal.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS Collective: Novembre 2010 : Ville en mutation avec lassociation rivage Marseille, Alger - Marseille Mars 2010 : Trio dprim Biennale internationale de la vido artistique a Duba avec VIDEOAPPART, Dubai, UAE Dcembre 2009 : Un cur simple , Bruxelles, Belgique Novembre 2009 : Subjectif- objectif Marseille, France Mars 2009 : Expressionisme, espace Le POLARIS Corbas, Lyon, France Mars 2009 : Regards reconstruits au Muse dArt moderne et contemporain le MAMA, Alger Aot 2008: 10 Mediterranean symposium of environmental art, Crete, Greece Juillet 2008 : Biennale de Pontevedra, Espagne Mai 2008 : Semaine culturelle algrienne Thran, IRAN Fvrier 2008 : Lart au fminin , Muse dArt moderne et contemporain le MAMA, Alger Juin2007 : Suite dinterrogations lectriques Alliance franaise Sabadell, Espagne Mars 2007 : Rsistance collage vido avec FEMLINK, France Fvrier 2007 : Image fixe image mobile lespace Polaris Corbas, Lyon Mai 2006 : 4eme biennale mditerranenne des arts de la ville de Tunis, Tunisie Avril 2006 : Refuge projet vido avec FEMLINK, France Novembre 2005 : ART TOUR , Sophia Antipolice, Nice, France Octobre 2005 : Rives exposition itinrante, Lespace POLARIS, la maison des critures, la MAPRA, Regard sud, Lyon, France Septembre 2005 : Rives, au centre culturel franais dAlger, Alger Dcembre 2003 : Emissaires Bastion 23, Alger Octobre 2003 : Biennale dAlexandrie des pays de la mditerrane, gypte Mars 2003 : Cration, Cit international des arts Paris, France Fvrier 2003 : Les missaires lUNESCO, Paris. France Juin 2001 : Aller - Retour, Galerie Esma, Alger Juin 2001 : Aller - Retour, Galerie la Digue, Marseille Mars 2001 : Salon des femmes peintres, Thtre de verdure, Alger Novembre 2000 : Salon des arts graphiques, Thtre de verdure, Alger Mai 1999 : Biennale des jeunes crateurs dEurope et de la mditerrane, Rome, Italie Juillet 1998 : Caravane des associations dmocratiques pour un autre visage de lAlgrie avec la fondation Asselah, France. Hommage Boubah, au sige de lAssociation Ahmed et Rabah Asselah Mai 1998 : Tous solidaires dune rive une autre Festival de Cannes, avec lAssociation Ahmed et Rabah Asselah, France.

Mars 1998 : Paravents collectifs en hommage Ahmed et Rabah Asselah, au sige de lAssociation, Alger. Mars 1998 Mmoire de femme, au Palais de la Culture, Alger. Mars 1998 Salon de la femme peintre, thtre de verdure, Alger. Janvier 1998 :1re Biennale mditerranenne des arts de ville de Tunis, Tunisie Mai 1997 : Peintres algriens, avec lAssociation C.I.D.J, Galerie du Cinma Parc Lige, Bruxelles. Mars 1997 : XVIIme Salon de la femme peintre, Thtre de verdure, Alger Mars 1996 : XVIme Salon de la femme peintre, Thtre de verdure, Alger Solo: Juin 2007 Suite dinterrogations lectriques, Sabadell, Espagne Aot 2005 Mmoire2, Galerie de Vall de Boi, Espagne Dcembre 2004 Mmoire2 Farrera, Espagne SELECTED pUBLICaTIONS Livres illustrs Avec les ditions DALIMEN : La srie, des aventures de Nour Le petit lapin bleu Les aventures de Rlgise Gode la tortue Princesse jardin Les aventures de Malek et de Malik Le prix de la russite Avec les ditions INES : Je pardonnerai de Mohamed Benchicou

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Break, 2011, Medical Compresses And Black Wire, 70x40cm

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Samta Benyahia
BOrN IN CONSTaNTINE, aLGrIE, LIVES wOrkS IN parIS, FraNCE We are born wet, naked and hungry. Then things get worse. Diplomated at The Ecole Nationale Suprieure des Arts Dcoratifs, Paris 1979.DEA Arts Plastiques lUniversit de Paris VIII 1989. STyLISTIC wOrk DESCrIpTION The peasants of the North of Africa wear a burnous woven into seven parts which symbolize the seven pieces of the human being. [] From one end of space and time to the other, man, by using fibres, thrashed bark or skins to make his clothes, finds again , owing to symbols, the place he believes he belongs to, in a coat of light. In my memories you are the one who walks away dressed of seven festive dresses. On one another you put the floral gowns embroidered with geometrical patterns. You only leave the big farm wide open on the fields to visit the tribe: births, weddings or funerals. Wrapped in a white shroud, your body was reunited under the earth with the antique Venus. Walk away into Time clad in eternity. Dearest shadow, turn back. I pushed the wooden screens of the room where laughing women weave. I captured the gleaming of the sun through the wheat waved restlessly, like the sea, by the wind coming from the Aures. I collected golden mosaic shards from the dust of Djemila. I opened rose-windows into the blue of sky. Naneh, I come to you on the path lined with wild grass. I am your grand-daughter, Samta. With transparent threads, I sew up again a dress of life that dances in the light. (Paris, 25th May 2011 CATHERINE CHEVALLIER)

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS Solo: 2010 Chambre bleueralisation dune chambre dartiste, Hotel Windsor, Nice, France. 2008 A la Lumire des Matins... Albert Camus, Galerie, Martine et Thibault de la Chtre / Paris, France. 2007 Architecture of the Veil, Fowler Museum. Los Angeles . US. Publication 2003 Made in Africa Exposition personelle IniVA, Londres, UK 2001 Patterns , Spaceix Gallery & Exeter Cathedral, Exeter, UK. 2000 Un regard pour une histoire , La Corte Arte Contemporanea , Florence , Italie. Publication. 1997 De Maison Blanche Maison Blanche, Institut Franais de Casablaca , Maroc. Publication. 1996 Lemprunte du Dsir , Rsidence Exposition Art In General New York, US. Publication. 1994 Femme dAlger dans son appartement Centres Culturels Alger et Tetouan. Algrie Maroc. Publication Collective: 2007 Mahrem, Santralistambul, Turquie.Publication. 2006 Laboratoire pour un avenir incertain , La force de lArt , Grand Palais, Paris, France. 2006 Fever variations -Gwangju Biennale 2006,Core du Sud 2006 5th International Ink painting Biennal of Shenzhen, China 2006 About Beauty, Haus Der Kulturen Der Welt, Berlin, Germany Publication. 2003 Fault Lines, Contemporary African Art and Shifting Landscapes Dream and Conflicts, 50me Biennale de Venise. Publication. 2003 Rites sacrs/Rites profanes 5me Rencontres de la photographie Contemporaine Africaine, Biennale de Bamako, 2003, Mali. Publication. 2003 Vieil, vieiling Representation and contemporary Art, Walsall Musuem and Art Gallery, Walsall. 2003 Le 20me sicle dans lart Algrien, Chateau Borely, Marseille, France 2003 Voyages dArtistes , Algrie 03, Espace EDF Electra, Paris, France. Publication. 2002 Paris pour Escale, Muse dArt Moderne de la ville de Paris, France. Publication. 2002 Un nouveau Paysage Humain, Cultes Intimes , 29 mes Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie , Arles, France. Publication. 1995 Art Contemporain Algrie, LIMA Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France. 1992 Force Sight, Prestneck , Brigitte March Galerie, Stuttgart , Germany. Publication.

1992 Force Sight, Prestneck , Brigitte March Galerie, Stuttgart , Germany. Publication. 1986 Biennale de La Havane, Cuba. Publication. SELECTED pUBLICaTIONS Les signes et symboles dans lart traditionnel . Ecole Nationale Suprieure des Arts dcoratifs, Paris 1979. Rsurgences des Traditions Ancestrales dans la Peinture Abstraite Contemporaine Algrienne . DEA Arts Plastiques, Universit Paris VIII, 1989. 201 Vauvrecy Vronique, Merched Bleund ba jardrin Maivon 2008 Philippe Piguet, Frac Alsace, Acquisitions 1996/2002 2007 Polly Roberts, Architecture of the veil, Fowler Museum Ucla, Los Angeles 2007 Nilfer Gle Mahrem , Santralistanbul 2006 Ho Hanru La Force de lArt, Grand Palais, Paris 2006 Wo hung Fever Variations, Gwandgu Biennale 2006 Martina Yang, 5th Shenzhen International Ink painting Biennial 2006 Chen Tong, Litterature franaise contemporaine Joceline Dakhlia, Crations Artistiques Contemporaines en Pays dIslam 2005 Wo Hung Negotiating Beauty , Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin D Martina Corgnati, Rencontres Mditerranennes , Messine, Italie 2004 Sara Diamond, Forms, DakArt 2004 2003 Simon Njamy, Rites sacrs/Rites profanes Fatima Mernissi, Les fantaisies de lHarem Ramon Tio Bellido, Le XXe Sicle dans lArt Algrien Patricia Solini, Regarder les toiles , Beauts/ Afriques, Le lieu Unique, Nantes Frdrique Emprou Entre le Bleu Beauts/Afriques, Le Lieu Unique, Nantes 2002 Estelle Pags Visages de Rencontres Mansour Abrous, Les artistes algriens, dictionnaire biographique 2003 Gilaine Tawadros and Sarah Campbel, Fault Lines , 50 me Biennale de Venise, 2003 Sylvie Couderc Le Polygone et le Ddale, brochure 50 Biennale de Venise 2003 Jean Louis Pradel Voayages dArtistes-Algrie03 Fatima Mernissi, Rose Issa, Fantaisies de lharem - Les nouvelles Shrazade CCC, Barcelone, Ramon Tio Bellido La traverse des moucharabiehs et autres jalousies , 50me Biennale de Venise, XX sicle dans lart Algrien
Une robe de vie qui danse dans la lumire, 2011, papier motifs autocollants dors, 40x53x110cm Une robe de vie qui danse dans la lumire, 2011, srigraphie sur film lectrostatique transparent, scotch adhsif, 30x48x107x144cm

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Sumayyah Al Suwaidi
BOrN IN DUBaI, UaE. LIVES aND wOrkS IN aBU DHaBI, UaE.
Hailed as the first female Emirati digital artist, Sumayyah Al Suwaidi started her artistic journey back in 2001 with a series of digital paintings inspired by the late sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Her first exhibition was in 2003 and she never looked back. Since then she has been part of numerous exhibitions around the UAE and abroad, she was also commissioned by many entities such as Burj Khalifa and UAEs Embassy in Washington DC. In 2007 Sumayyah established a career for herself as an art curator and went on to curate many shows such as her famous annual artistic event Ramadan Art Bazaar which many people eagerly await for every year during Ramadan. As a curator Sumayyah believes in supporting the art scene in the UAE and nourishing it by supporting other artists, professionals and emerging and she brought art to the common man, by bringing art closer to the community. She also was a judge and a panelist in many art competitions and exhibitions such as Watanis art competition for UAEs national day 2009 and Tashkeels Emirati exhibition part of Shanghai Expos UAE pavilion 2010. Sumayyah Al Suwaidi is also a successful business woman, as she owns one of the most famous multi brand stores in Abu Dhabi Grafika. She uses her boutique to support established and emerging fashion designers by providing space for them to showcase and sell their creations to the UAE market and the world through Grafikas online page. She was invited to judge the Emirati designer of the year competition by Fashion Expo Arabia in 2009 and Preston Universitys fashion designer of the year 2009. Sumayyahs fashion sense made her want to get involved in the fashion industry but not only as a boutique owner but also as a fashion designer. Sumayyah launched her fashion label in Feb 2010, XXXXXXX is the title of her band which is pronounced SEEN in English and is the letter S in Arabic. Limited edition abayas and one of a kind dresses, no dress is made twice because she believes every woman should be unique in what she wears. Sumayyah Al Suwaidi is a multi talented soul with passion for creativity and life. Her dedication and motivation are contagious as she seamlessly combines her multifaceted personality with drive and a magical smile. Sumayyah Al Suwaidi is a digital artist whose passion drives her to manipulating seemingly normal and boring photographs into masterpieces of emotions and sensuality. A giant in a small body, Sumayyah moves the skies, stretches the oceans and elevates humans to the clouds, and in it all brings out beauty in whatever painting she decides to bring to life. She is hailed as the first female digital artist from the UAE. Her first series of paintings were in 2001 of off his highness the late sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. her paintings across the UAE, and internationally in Germany, Hong Kong, USA, and Morocco. She has done workshops and gave lectures to many art students. In addition a judge and a panelist on many art competitions on a national scale. Moreover, in 2007 she started her career as a curator with her solo Lights in Harmony then went on to curate many other shows such as The Ramadan Art Bazaar an annual art exhibition at Ghaf Gallery to help common people in buying original artworks at very reasonable prices. Times New Roman Also she was written about in various magazines and newspapers locally and internationally. (Beyond the Horizon, 2007, Abu Dhabi, Ghaf Art Gallery) - (The Art of Sumayyah Al Suwaidi, 2010, Abu Dhabi, Ghaf Art Gallery) STyLISTIC wOrk DESCrIpTION The artwork describes the side of a persons personality which is not seen often, the side which tries to find the truth and honesty in what others say or do, the side which always questions the intentions of the other person and tries to calculate and balance all facts.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS Solo/Collective: 2001 Abu Dhabi, a collection of 6 digital paintings of the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE 2003 Dubai, for the children with special needs, UAE 2004 Abu Dhabi Beach Rotana Hotel, Lebanese and Emirati Artists, UAE 2005 Dubai, Burjumans Art & Fashion Festival, UAE 2006 Abu Dhabi, The EMC Art Auction for Charity, UAE 2006 Abu Dhabi, The 3rd National Exhibition for Contemporary Art (AFOC) 2007 Abu Dhabi, The Kindness Continues, Cultural Foundation, UAE 2007 Sharjah, Qanat Al Qasba (Emirati Dimensions), UAE 2007 Abu Dhabi, Ghaf Art Gallery (beyond the horizon, solo exhibition) 2007 Abu Dhabi, The 4th National Exhibition for Contemporary Art (AFOC) 2007 Al Wahda Mall Art for Charity, Abu Dhabi, UAE 2007 Colours for Good (Dubai Cares) Dubai Women Association, UAE 2007 Desert whispers, Ghaf Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE 2008 Art Avenue Dubai, Dubai shopping festival, UAE 2008 Interior Design Show at ADNEC Abu Dhabi UAE 2008 Curated Digital Harmony Ghaf Gallery, Abu Dhabi - 2008 Suhour Emirati Art Exhibition Dubai UAE 2008 Curated Silent Bidding Auction, Ghaf Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE 2008 Women In Art, CourtYard Gallery, Dubai, UAE 2009 Emirati Expressions, TDIC, Emirates Palace, UAE 2009 Silent conversations Tashkeel, Dubai UAE 2009 Curated Lights In Harmony, Emirati Photography Competition by Sorouh, Ghaf, Abu Dhabi, UAE 2009 Made In Tashkeel, Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE 2009 Emirati Visions, Tashkeel, Berlin, Germany 2009 Curated Ramadan Art Bazaar, Ghaf Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE 2009 Curated Ghaf Art Gallerys Booth at Bounjor La france, ADNEC 2009 Art Abu Dhabi, Emirati Expressions, Emirates Palace, UAE 2010 Take Art/Leave Art, AVA Landis Gallery, Chattanooga, US 2010 Portrait Of A Generation, Tashkeel Gallery, Dubai, UAE 2010 ArtSawa Gallery, Dubai, UAE 2010 Interiors 2010, ADNEC, Abu Dhabi, UAE 2010 Never Think Small, Climate Gallery, New York, US 2010 Still Point II, Still Point Art Gallery, Brunswick, US 2010 Curated 30x30 group art exhibition, Ghaf Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE 2010 4x6 International Postcard Art Exhibition, That Gallery, Hong Kong 2010 Assilah Festival, Morocco 2010 Curated Sumayyah Al Suwaidis Ramadan Art Bazaar, Ghaf Gallery, Abu Dhabi UAE

2010 Art Auction for charity, Dar Al Funoon Kuwait 2010 The Art of Sumayyah Al Suwaidi, solo exhibition at Ghaf Gallery, Abu Dhabi UAE 2010 Curated Express Yourself in 30x30, Marsam Mattar Gallery, Dubai, UAE 2010 UAE Heritage Through Modern Artists Eye, UAE Embassy, Washington DC, US 2010 39th UAEs National Day Celebration, Ministry of Culture, Youth & Community Development, Abu Dhabi UAE 2010 Curated Worlds Together a group exhibition at Marsam Mattar Gallery, Dubai, UAE 2011 Curated and Participated in Guess the Artist open call art exhibition, Ghaf Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE 2011 Participated in Art Dubais Sikka Art Fair, Al Bastakiya Dubai UAE 2011 Curated 4 Decades group Emirati exhibition, Al Qattara Arts Center, Al Ain UAE 2011 Curated & participated in Unconventional group Emirati exhibition, Mubadala Al Mamoura, Abu Dhabi UAE SELECTED pUBLICaTIONS Brigitte, October 2011, Berlin, Germany Etihadinflight, January 2010, Abu Dhabi, UAE Still Point Art Gallery, Selections from 2010 exhibitions, November 2010, Brunswick, Maine, US 2000 finalist at IBDAA Awards (Radio Documentary) 2001 first established Emirati female digital artist. 2008 curated the first ever art bazaar in the UAE. 2009 commissioned 4 artworks for Burj Khalifas 50th floor. 2009 first Emirati to be published in ImagineFX ci-fi & digital art international magazine. 2009 part of the judging committee in Mutahida art competition, initiative by Watani for the UAEs National Day. 2010 Best New Talent in Fashion, Arab Women Awards by LOFFICIEL Middle East. 2010 Member of the Elite Group of Artists of Universka (An Art Design Life Performance Company, Strassen, Luxembourg) 2011 Chosen as a Hot 100 by Ahlan! Magazine, as an entrepreneur. 2011 Judge at the LOfficiel Arab Woman Awards Abu Dhabi

The Other Side Of Me, 2011, Digital Artwork, 72x108 cm

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Zena Assi and Issam Barhouch

BOrN IN 1974, LEBaNON. LIVES, wOrkS IN LEBaNON, BEIrUT. She graduated with honours from lAcademie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (ALBA) in advertising, worked in the field for two years and taught in different universities. Her contemporary work on canvas, that draws inspiration from the relations and conflicts between the individual and his environment, has been part of numerous collective and solo exhibitions in Beirut, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and London. Her work was recently auctioned in Christies Dubai and Sothebys London and has been present in the Salon dAutomne of the Sursock museum since 2005. She received two awards in 2009, and took part in the Cairo biennale in 2011. STyLISTIC wOrk DESCrIpTION Throughout history, the woman in the Arab world is considered to be a symbol of perfection, flawless values and moral principles; she has been praised by poets and writers, used as an inspiration and set as an example for cultural and social values expected to be a perfect daughter, wife and mother. But parallel to that adoration movement, the Arab woman has been completely deprived of her legal and social rights, her freedom of thought and behaviour. In Lebanon, the contradiction goes even further. Seen from afar, nowadays, the Lebanese woman seems to be enjoying full freedom of speech, access to education, right to work, divorce, have a full active social life, and benefit from complete autonomy, independence, and equality with man. But in fact, when one lives inside the borders and gets a closer look to the situation, another truth unveils itself: the Lebanese women are still suffering from the effect of years of war, they still carry the scars of it, many of them have lost a husband, a child, a father. Furthermore, years of stagnation of the system, didnt permit any amelioration in her social or cultural rights, she is still considered by law as inferior to man. As such, she cannot give her nationality to her children, she can be imprisoned if committing adultery, or abortion, if divorced she can lose the custody of her children when they reach the age of 7, no law protects her from sexual harassment in her profession, her part of inheritance is frequently less than her male siblings, and religion (either Christian or Muslim) as well as society limit her freedom of behavior, prohibit her sexual liberty and sanction or exclude her otherwise. Being used as an image, an icon, an inspiration the Arab woman is in fact treated as an object. The project: The idea is an alliance between a painter, Zena Assi, and an architect, Issam Barhouche, to create a dress made of shiny golden dots, conveying a glittery luxurious vision of an icon from afar, that takes a completely opposite dimension when one gets a closer look and realizes that the golden dots are in fact the heads of bullets. The bullet by itself, as a multi-dimensional object, a beautiful item made of golden material in order to serve a dark purpose. The dress will convey the double message of a glamorous attractive facade, hiding a treacherous, deceitful truth. (ISSAM BARHOUCHE ZENA ASSI)

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS Solo: Jan-febr-2011 Al Bareh gallery, cityphilia Bahrain, Kingdom of Bahrain May-jun-2010 Art Sawa gallery, Mass movement Dubai, UAE Nov-Dec-2009, Alwane gallery, Un peu de Beyrouth Beirut, Lebanon Jan-febr-2009 Art Sawa gallery, public space Dubai, UAE Jun-july-2008 Alwane gallery, cite et citadins Beirut, Lebanon Collective: April- 2011 Christies auction, Dubai, UAE Dec-febr-2011 Biennale of Cairo, Cairo, Egypt Oct- 2010 Sothebys auction, London, England 2010 Contemparabia, Dome, Beirut, Lebanon 2010-9-8 Art Sawa gallery, Dubai, UAE 2010-9-8-7 Alwane gallery, Beirut, Lebanon 2009 Abu Dhabi Art Fair, Abu Dhabi 2010-9-8-6-5 Salon dautomne, Sursock museum, Beirut, Lebanon Nov-2008 Paris- Abu Dhabi Art Fair, Abu Dhabi

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS Banipal cover & article - summer 2008 - London UK the National by Kaelen Wilson - Goldie - August 2008 - Abu Dhabi daily tribune article by Roberto Carillo- January 2011- Bahrain Gulf News- January 2011- Gulf time out by Muhammad Yusuf - February 2009 - Dubai la revue du liban by Nicole Malhame Harfouche - July 2008 - Beirut agenda culturel cover - May-June 2008 - Beirut min wa ila cover & article by Nawal el Ali - august 2008 - Jerusalem arab forum article by Barbara Schumacher 2009- Germany jamalouki by May Menassa - January 2009 - Middle East annahar by Laure Ghoraieb - July 2008 - Beirut lorient le jour by Colette Khalaf - November 2009, January 2007 - Beirut al akhbar by Nawal al Ali - July 2008 July 2010- Beirut LIST OF SELECTED COLLECTIVES BMW, mini coopers 50th anniversary, best design for the Middle East, 2009 Mention spciale du jury, XXIX Salon dAutomne, Sursock museum, Beirut, Lebanon, 2009

Bullet Points, 2011, Bullets, Velvet, Mannequin, Copper, 143X90x90cm My City, My Puppets, 2011, Wood, Chains, Iron, Collage And Mixed Media, 161X30x70cm (With Hanger & Chains)

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CrEDITS All images copyright of the artists, courtesy Art Sawa published by art Sawa Copyright art Sawa 2011