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Site Specific: Installations Dot Across Dubai

Shaking off common stereotypes, Dubai Design Week enlivens this desert city with over a dozen site-specific installations – everything from digital immersion to deeply ingrained artisanal-commentary. With work from both regional- and international-based practitioners found in strategic locations...
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Shaking off common stereotypes, Dubai Design Week enlivens this desert city with over a dozen site-specific installations – everything from digital immersion to deeply ingrained artisanal-commentary. With work from both regional- and international-based practitioners found in strategic locations between Dubai Marina and old city Al Fahidi district, these singular pieces reframe areas less known to transitory tourists and shed light on Dubai’s diversity. Projects like Earth Hive by Emirati Latifa Saeed and Syrian Talin Hazbarre re-engage passersby with local terracotta craft while Cuppetelli & Mendoza’s Nervous Structure plays on virtual tactility. Juxtaposing the city’s century-old historic district – clad in thick coral-stone walls and small arabesque-motif windows – Detritus Wall by Iraqi All J Al-Samarraie challenges the ongoing issue of intrinsic material value by recomposing discarded cardboard and paper into something of a raw cylindrical combine. Nearby, Lux by Syrian siblings Bahar and Sawsan Al Bahar draws from the geometric architectonics of traditional Muqarnas decorative elements. Brazilian duo D3’s (Edson Pavoni and João Souza) A Place of Departure silently integrates technology in an unconventional however discrete wooden window frame. Demanding shared experience, an outer glazing vibrates as two people simultaneously touch its surface. Across town, Soundweaving matches skills of Budapest-based designer Zsanett Szirmay and composer Bálint Tárkány-Kovács for a specially configured apparatus to ultimately ‘code’ embroidery patterns based on musical scores. Last but certainly not least, Aljoud Lootah’s fishing industry-inspired installation Yaroof employs bright blue rope wrapped around hexagonal frames to emulate knotting patterns used to compose nets.

Nervous Structure by Cuppetelli & Mendoza, installed in the historic Al Fahidi district
Nervous Structure by Cuppetelli & Mendoza, installed in the historic Al Fahidi district
Luz by Bahar & Sawsan Al Bahar, installed in the historic Al Fahidi district
Luz by Bahar & Sawsan Al Bahar, installed in the historic Al Fahidi district
Detritus Wall by Ali J Al-Sammarraie, installed in the historic Al Fahidi district
Detritus Wall by Ali J Al-Sammarraie, installed in the historic Al Fahidi district
A Place to Departure by D3, installed in installed in the historic Al Fahidi district
A Place to Departure by D3, installed in installed in the historic Al Fahidi district
Soundweaving by Zsanett Szirmay & Bálint Tárkány-Kovács, installed at the Tashkeel gallery.
Soundweaving by Zsanett Szirmay & Bálint Tárkány-Kovács, installed at the Tashkeel gallery.
Soundweaving by Zsanett Szirmay & Bálint Tárkány-Kovács, installed at the Tashkeel gallery.
Soundweaving by Zsanett Szirmay & Bálint Tárkány-Kovács, installed at the Tashkeel gallery.
LOT36587 by Raudha Alghurair, installed at Dubai Design District
LOT36587 by Raudha Alghurair, installed at Dubai Design District
Earth Hives by Latifa Saeed & Talin Hazbar, installed at Dubai Marina
Earth Hives by Latifa Saeed & Talin Hazbar, installed at Dubai Marina
Yaroof by Aljoud Lootah, installed on the beach at Dubai Marina
Yaroof by Aljoud Lootah, installed on the beach at Dubai Marina
Untitled Archway by Anjali Srinivasan, installed at Dubai Design District
Untitled Archway by Anjali Srinivasan, installed at Dubai Design District
Untitled Archway by Anjali Srinivasan, installed at Dubai Design District
Untitled Archway by Anjali Srinivasan, installed at Dubai Design District
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