Lost and found: Aisha Alabbar Gallery explores issues of loss and belonging

Artworks look at the viewer.

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

Aisha Alabbar Gallery is presenting (till April 25) Threads of Existence, a group exhibition featuring two UAE-based artists, namely, Sara Al Haddad and Elham Shafaei. Together, they attempt to weave the intricate threads of their individual artistic journeys, diving into themes of loss and belonging through creative expression. Al Haddad crafts objects from yarn and fibre; they do not only occupy spaces, but indicate the very passage of time. Each piece, whether hung, wrapped, or arranged, whispers stories of her inner struggles, which evolve as per the environment and context.

Al Haddad’s work has been described as “coming from a very personal space … with vulnerability, she abstractly depicts private emotions through a practice that seeks self-acceptance by dealing with emotions, fears, doubts, and insecurities. Translating emotional states into artworks, she re-navigates those feelings to produce objects that are delicate and change according to each new space they occupy.” She is based in Dubai and was a Fulbright Scholar at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, receiving her MFA in Sculpture (2016). She did her BFA in Visual Communication (Graphic Design) from the American University in Dubai in 2011.

 Sara Al Haddad is based in Dubai.

Meanwhile, Shafaei embarks on diverse artistic explorations in her studio, blending painting and stitching, to explore the essence of what it is to be human. For her, loss is a universal condition resonating from the very moment of our separation from the maternal embrace. Through her art, she delves into the yearning for connection, intertwining melancholic tales and stitched narratives that mirror life’s interlinked tapestry. “The idea of loss has been an integral part of my artistic temperament,” she says. “Loss is a rather universal phenomenon for we all begin with a fundamental Loss, which is that of the maternal body. We began our being as a continuity with another body and became an individual by virtue of the cutting of the umbilical cord – and thus we fell into the world.

“We enter the world as foreigners and forever submit ourselves to a profound sense of not belonging. Our existence will always be structured by Loss and un-belonging, which entail our eternal desire to belong. Love, family, friendship, patriotism – even work itself – are among the names of this desire. My art extends the names of this desire through melancholic creatures, cuttings and stitches that express the idea of being removed, displaced, transplanted and re-attached through a combination of painting, soft sculpture, wearable paintings and fabric art, to represent the complex notion of objecthood.”

  An installation view of the exhibition.

Each of her pieces in the exhibition strives to serve as an invitation to those seeking connection with life. They aim to cultivate a sense of belonging and dispel the notion of solitude in our collective journey. “My artistic endeavour is to cultivate a space for action, contemplation and reflection on the themes of loneliness and un-belonging,” Shafaei says. “Through this body of work, I invite individuals to collectively feel and express themselves, encouraging them to reflect on their own experiences and actively participate in the unfolding collective narrative.”

Shafaei received her B.A Bachelor of Painting (Arts) in 2007. In 2010, she moved to Malaysia where she obtained M.A (Fine Arts) in Papermaking and PhD (Fine Arts) in Painting that examined the role of melancholia in creative life through studio research as well as a written dissertation. In 2016, she relocated to Sharjah, where she currently lives and pursues her studio practice. Her art has been featured in various regional and international exhibitions. She is the Co-Founder and Co-Editor at ContemporaryIdentities International Online Art Magazine-Gallery. In 2021, she founded i.e. Art Projects Online Art Foundation. She has initiated and continues to develop curatorial projects that aim to connect practitioners of contemporary art across the world.

  Elham Shafaei blends painting and stitching.

Threads of Existence beckons us to walk alongside the art makers, and prods us to embrace the ebb and flow of time, involving ourselves in the eternal search for our place in the world’s structure. Through their chosen mediums of fibre and paint, the artists extend an invitation to viewers to contemplate questions of identity and the timeless quest for belonging. Together, they confront one of the needs and results of human existence — the longing for connection and the bittersweet experience of loss.

Founded in 2018 in Al Quoz, Aisha Alabbar Gallery is one of the first women-led and Emirati-led galleries in Dubai focused on contemporary and modern art by Emirati, local, and regional artists. It seeks to further the practices of emerging and established artists; they are the inspiration for the gallery’s diverse range of programming. Dedicated to UAE-based artists and producing five exhibitions a year, it has built a reputation for rigorous exhibition presentations and for collaborations with well-known curators and organisations. It invests considerable resources in bringing the practices of artists in the UAE to the contemporary stage.

“A commitment to education and community strengthens our exhibition programme,” it says. “Each show is accompanied by immersive activations, talks and workshops with the purpose of engaging diverse audiences. We seek to contribute to a lasting, evolving UAE arts ecosystem through exhibitions, accompanying programming and commissioned, in-depth publications.”