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Sharjah Retrospective Sheds New Light on Hassan Sharif Legacy

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Sharjah Retrospective Sheds New Light on Hassan Sharif Legacy 22 November 19, 2017 Culture Sharjah retrospective sheds new light on Hassan Sharif legacy N.P. Krishna Kumar been recreated in a gallery called “Hassan’s Atelier” exactly the way he had left it along with the last Sharjah pieces he was working on and the jumble of raw material that he used. landmark retrospective Sheikha Hoor took the “I Am the titled “Hassan Sharif: I Single Work Artist” title from Sha- Am the Single Work Art- rif’s writings referring to “his con- ist” at the Sharjah Art ceptual exploration of duration and Foundation (SAF) cel- repetition.” ebratesA the life and work of the late The works are organised into nar- Emirati artist, a pioneer who liber- rative chapters, each with its own ated a nascent art practice in the space. The chapters’ titles were also United Arab Emirates of the early inspired by Sharif’s own words, col- 1970s. lected from recorded conversations. Curated by SAF President Sheikha The show is arranged as a visual nar- Hoor al-Qasimi, the exhibition in- rative that unfolds Sharif’s journey, cludes approximately 300 works in six other chapters: “…so I created spanning the foundation’s spaces in a semi system,” “My little tiny box,” the Al Mareija Square area and Bait “I’m loyal to colour,” “Performance Al Serkal in the Arts Square. is good,” “I’m an object maker” and “The show has been in the mak- “Things in my room.” ing for a number of years with the Born in 1951, Sharif lived and Avant-garde vision. Late Emirati artist Hassan Sharif. (Sharjah Art Foundation) active involvement of Hassan Sharif worked mostly in Dubai until his himself,” Sheikha Hoor said, “but death. He graduated from the Byam with the untimely passing away of Shaw School of Art, London (1984). around UAE’s first conceptual art in- we take for granted and transforms the artist last year, the exhibition During his school vacations as well stallations. This has been recreated them into lively artwork. became an occasion to pay homage as his return to Dubai and early for- with photographs from the event Sharif in the 1980s was fascinat- by those who were intimately con- ays into contemporary art practice along with Sharif’s installation us- ed in exploring geometric shapes nected with Sharif and cherished through installations and perfor- ing two chequered boards and eight and forms, creating playful proce- his work, as well as for art and de- mances, he set the trend and played plastic water bottles. The show has been in dures and rules of repetition that he sign students and the general pub- a major role in steering regional art Also on show are Sharif’s early termed “semi-systems.” lic to immerse themselves in the discourse from calligraphic abstrac- newspaper cartoons illustrating his the making for a number SAF is planning a comprehensive process of creativity that Sharif did tion. sharp commentary on contempo- of years with the active Arabic/English catalogue, including with such zeal and abandon.” Sharif also played the role of art- rary Arab society at a time of great involvement of Hassan essays by Sheikha Hoor, Emirati art- The exhibition traces nearly five ist, critic, writer and translator, economic transition as well as on re- ist Mohammed Kazem and Emirati decades of the artist’s multimedia bringing international art trends to gional and global politics and issues. Sharif himself. poet Rashid al-Khalid. practice, which included painting, the attention of the local commu- He abandoned cartooning in the The foundation plans to take the sculpture, assemblage, drawing, nity. 1970s but this aspect never left his show to international venues. installation, performances and pho- Much of Sharif’s own explora- practice, as demonstrated by a play- “Hassan Sharif’s art practice was tography. Some of the works have tion of contemporary art unfolded ful irreverence in whatever he did. able to influence the nature of [lo- never been exhibited. Some have in Sharjah, which adds another ele- Embracing the concepts of British cal] art production, transforming it been recreated by SAF exactly as ment of poignancy to this show. In Constructivism and radical avant- from a state of mimicry and simplic- Sharif conceived with detailed writ- 1980, he cofounded the Emirates garde movements, Sharif responded ity to a new art form with variety ten instructions and drawings. Fine Art Society and in 1984 set up to rapid social and economic chang- and range,” Sheikha Hoor said. The entire contents of Sharif’s the Al Mareija Art Atelier. es in the UAE through his “weav- The show will be on view through studio, donated by the artist’s es- A notable group show initiated by ing” series of assemblages and February 3. tate, adds another dimension to the Sharif was the exhibition at Shar- “urban archaeology objects” out of show. The studio, including his desk jah’s Central Souq in 1985 when a mass-produced consumer items. He SAF President N.P. Krishna Kumar is an Arab with its markings and jottings, has bemused group of people gathered foregrounds everyday objects that Sheikha Hoor al-Qasimi Weekly contributor in Dubai. Robert Irwin on the literary legacy of Sudanese author Tayeb Salih Paul Blezard much missed on the literary scene “It’s rather like shoplifting… but since his death in 2009. without the legal consequences,” Published in 1966, “Season of Irwin said, drawing laughter from London Migration to the North” is consid- the crowd. ered a key piece of post-colonial In Salih’s novel, there is one line hen a book de- literature and has been subject to — “We are a doomed people, so scribed as the numerous works of academic anal- regale us with amusing stories” — “most important ysis. In his lecture, Irwin explored that echoes Shakespeare’s oft mis- Arabic novel of the the work’s themes of duality, em- quoted line “For god’s sake, let us 20th century” is bedding, abandonment and inter- sit upon the ground and tell sad Wthe subject of a rare public lecture, textuality, referencing Joseph Con- stories of the death of kings,” in its organisers can rightly expect a rad’s “Heart of Darkness,” Oscar Richard II. large audience but few could have Wilde’s “A Portrait of Dorian Gray” expected the crowd that turned and Francis Ford Coppola’s seminal Irwin gave a out at the British Library’s Knowl- film “Apocalypse Now.” captivating overview edge Centre on a rainy November Irwin also explored the story- 7 evening when historian Robert within-a-story structure of the of Salih’s novel while Irwin discussed Sudanese novelist novel, posing the question “Who providing Tayeb Salih’s masterpiece “Season is the narrator?” to the audience background into an of Migration to the North.” while drawing parallels with “The extraordinary life of The lecture, organised by the Heart of Darkness.” Each book in- a man who has been Banipal Trust for Arab Literature, cludes a main character giving har- was attended by, among others, rowing accounts of their past at much missed on the James Currey, editor of the Heine- various points, Irwin noted. literary scene since mann Arab Authors series, which He referenced, but glossed over, his death in 2009. published the first English edition the often lurid and overtly sexual of the novel in 1969; Salih’s widow, themes of Salih’s novel, for which While the audience may have Julia Salih; and Sudanese Ambassa- it was famously banned in Sudan replaced “the ground” with com- dor Mohammed Abdalla Ali Eltom for several years. He also suggested fortable theatre seats in an elegant Irwin, a British author whose that the protagonist’s fixation on venue, Irwin’s lecture on Salih was work focuses on Arabic litera- intimacy with white women was engaging, informative and greatly ture, wrote “The Arabian Knights: a counter-response to the colonial entertaining and his knowledge A Companion” and “For Lust of habit of taking native mistresses and admiration of the great Suda- Knowing: The Orientalists and as an attempt to better understand nese author shone through. their Enemies,” as well as seven the culture and language. More than half a century after novels, including “Wonders Will On intertextuality, Irwin noted Salih’s text was published, at a time Never Cease.” His book on Arab that Salih’s method of referencing when there is still much “migration historian Ibn Khaldun is to be pub- great works of literature and art, to the North,” Irwin illustrated that lished next year. including Shakespeare’s “Othello,” Salih’s novel has as much value to Irwin gave a captivating over- “The Tempest” and “Richard II,” readers as ever. view of Salih’s novel while provid- the writings of Sigmund Freud and, Captivating narrative. Cover of Tayeb Salih’s novel “Season of ing background into an extraor- of course, “One Thousand and One Paul Blezard is a British writer and Migration to the North.” dinary life of a man who has been Arabian Nights” is shared by him. broadcaster based in London..
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