Disorientation II: The Rise and Fall of Arab Cities

Overview

The utopian vision of pan-Arab unity of the 1960s and 1970s is contrasted with the reality of discord, conflict and bloodshed evident in the present day through the work of fifteen contemporary artists from the region.

Disorientation II looks at the era of Egyptian President Jamal Abdel-Nasser as a moment of rupture when the repercussions of the failure of his pan-Arab unity plan and the ensuing Arab nationalism fractured fragile structures meant to stand up and endure in the face of outside hegemony then, and in its wake shattered in a succession of breakdowns, wars, displacement, and miseries.

Disorientation II counterpoints a utopian era with the reality of today. The fragile watercolour renderings and nostalgic photographs, images and settings from the sixties and seventies, seen as one is ushered into the exhibition, are juxtaposed against an imposing body of sculptures, monumental photographs and installations, somber videos and performances that follow, and project a certain disdain for the helpless, unforgiving situation of loss and conflict experienced in the Arab world today.

The participating artists are Ayreen Anastas, Tarek Atoui, Kader Attia, Yto Barrada, Monika Borgmann, Hala Elkoussy, Rene Gabri, Tarek Al Ghoussein, Diana Al Hadid, Mona Hatoum, Samah Hijawi, Wafa Hourani, Ali Jabri, Marwan Rechmaoui, Hrair Sarkissian, Wael Shawky.

Curated by Sharjah Art Foundation Director Jack Persekian, this exhibition is a collaboration between the Sharjah Art Foundation and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC). It is the first exhibition to be presented on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island.