A Guest at Jameel Arts Centre’s Guest Relations

By Burçak Fakıoğlu Yakıcı

Published on April 27, 2024

Dubai's Jameel Arts Centre is currently hosting Guest Relations, curated by Murtaza Vali and Lucas Morin until 28 April 2024. The exhibition delves into the complexities of hospitality and tourism, exploring the multifaceted nature of being a guest in various contexts. Through a diverse range of artworks, we navigate themes of migration, globalization, and human interaction within hospitality settings. Reflecting on my family's anecdotes from Baghdad, I recall discussions about the hospitality of the region amidst the backdrop of war and the role of hotels in the city.

Curated by Vali and Morin, the exhibition critically explores the concept of being a guest, contrasting it with the allure of tourism. In these narratives, hotels are depicted as symbols of modernity and, sociologically, as 'secure' spaces enabling gatherings. Comfort is a primary expectation when it comes to hotels, as they serve as temporary accommodations. When viewed from a tourism perspective, the focus is on highlighting the charm of a city, drawing attention to the experience of being a guest in that city, with hotels playing a central role in facilitating this experience. The exhibition not only allowed me to revisit memories of the past but also captivated me with its conceptual approach, examining the conceptual framework into fragments.

2. Installation view, Guest Relations. Courtesy of Art Jameel. Photography by Daniella Baptista.

Hotels are depicted as symbols of modernity and, sociologically, as 'secure' spaces enabling gatherings.

The exhibition explores the experience of being a guest in the United Arab Emirates, while also directing attention towards the Gulf countries through a diverse range of artworks. The exhibition's location in this city holds profound significance. Situated in Dubai, a rapidly expanding urban landscape known for its dual role as a thriving tourism destination and a bustling business hub, we delve into the sociological and economic critiques woven into the fabric of the exhibition's context. While addressing hotel spaces as temporary accommodations providing hospitality, comfort, and security, Guest Relations also serves as a reminder of their historical significance and their capacity to host geopolitical negotiations.

3. Installation view, Guest Relations. Courtesy of Art Jameel. Photography by Daniella Baptista.

The interconnection between the exhibited works is remarkably compelling, resembling a journey from the exterior ambiance of a hotel, through the lobby, and then to the intimate spaces of its rooms, before gently guiding the viewer back outside of a hotel. The accompanying textual narratives serve as insightful guides throughout this exhibition.

4. Wall text. Installation view, Guest Relations. Courtesy of Art Jameel. Photography by Daniella Baptista.

As the viewer steps into the first room of the exhibition space, they encounter Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin's H Facts: Hospitality/Hostility (2002-2007), featuring hotel signs inspired by the small hotels Alptekin encountered during his walks in the Istanbul districts in the 1990s, where these neighborhoods became resident locations for migrants. The one mentioning the "Otel Bağdat" (Baghdad Hotel) particularly catches my eye. These eye-catching nighttime scenes and the selection of the names of the cities reveal untold stories of temporary ‘’livelihood’’.

5. Above: Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin. Below: Lamya Gargash. Installation view, Guest Relations. Courtesy of Art Jameel. Photography by Daniella Baptista.

As we step into the first gallery of the exhibition, Hale Tenger's Beirut, the serene yet haunting recordings of explosions in Beirut, echo through the gallery space, accompanied by the footage of the front façade of the hotel, the city's iconic French colonial-era establishments, abandoned during the Lebanese Civil War. This section is marked by the architectural position within the concept of the hotels. Pio Abad’s Oh! Oh! Oh! (A Universal History of Iniquity) (2013) features perfume bottles shaped like a camel, a dagger, and the Burj Khalifa. Accompanied by a kaleidoscopic wallpaper composed of repeated images of a chandelier from the Philippine Plaza Hotel in Manila, the installation creates a visually striking scene. However, the overly present wallpaper dominates the room, contributing to a somewhat suffocating atmosphere.

6. Installation view, Guest Relations. Courtesy of Art Jameel. Photography by Daniella Baptista.

In the "The Lobby" section, Taryn Simon's Paperwork and the Will of Capital reveals an agreement signed in Dubai. This agreement pertains to the development of a Park Hyatt in the small Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, offering citizenship to investors. Based on archival photographs, Simon recreates the arrangements of the floral concept that had been present at the political meetings. This suggests a juxtaposition between the formalities of business agreements and the natural beauty of the floral arrangements not only highlights a contrast but also emphasizes the globalized industrial production and trade of flowers.

7. Installation view, Guest Relations. Courtesy of Art Jameel. Photography by Daniella Baptista.

Another captivating installation is Ala Younis's Double-Sided Mirrors (2023), inspired by hotel lobby chandeliers. Positioned at eye level, the double-sided mirrors prompt viewers to contemplate the role of such spaces in geopolitical maneuvers. As part of the curatorial concept, a curated reading list, including Toukan's "Sundry Modernism: materials for a study of Palestinian modernism," accompanying the layout by Ala Younis, offers a thought-provoking observation to interpret apolitical forms within politicized contexts.

8. Ala Younis, Double-Sided Mirrors, 2023. Resin, glass, crystal prisms, plastic, paper and metal. Courtesy of the artist. Commissioned by Art Jameel. Installation view, Guest Relations. Courtesy of Art Jameel. Photography by Daniella Baptista.

The artworks, emerging as narratives and stories, provided me with the opportunity to revisit memories from the past. In my family's anecdotes from Baghdad, I recall the portrayal of hotels across the Gulf region as symbols of modernity. These hotels, facilitating political meetings, also serve as venues for art exhibitions. The exhibition also invites the city's visitors to engage in these inquiries and reflections.

I recall the portrayal of hotels across the Gulf region as symbols of modernity. These hotels, facilitating political meetings, also serve as venues for art exhibitions.

^{Guest Relations is on view at Jameel Arts Centre, Jaddaf, Dubai until April 28th, 2024. The exhibition showcases works by Pio Abad, Nadi Abusaada, Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin, Marwa Arsanios, Abdul Halik Azeez, Asma Belhamar, Sophie Calle, Tenzing Dakpa, Shezad Dawood, Meschac Gaba, Mario García Torres, Lamya Gargash, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Mati Jhurry & Nabla Yahya, Eisa Jocson, Hilmi Johandi, Ranjit Kandalgaonkar, Ahmed Mater, Hind Mezaina, Park Sunyoung & Lee Somi, Michael Rakowitz, Marwan Rechmaoui, Yiyo Tirado Rivera, Salma Serry, Taryn Simon, Svay Ken, Rayyane Tabet, Hale Tenger, Sung Tieu, Lantian Xie, Ala Younis.}
Burçak Yakıcı is an independent curator and art critic based in Istanbul, Turkey. She teaches Curatorial Studies in the Department of Fine Arts at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Desing, and Architecture, at Bilkent University in Turkey, and is also the Founder and Curator of Oasis Curatorial, working at intersection of contemporary art with literature, language, and translation studies. Burçak draws inspiration from her diverse upbringing in various cities such as Moscow, Geneva, Aleppo, Oslo, and Strasbourg. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Strasbourg, France, specializing in the translation of philosophical texts.

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A Guest at Jameel Arts Centre’s Guest Relations

Hotels are depicted as symbols of modernity and, sociologically, as 'secure' spaces enabling gatherings.

I recall the portrayal of hotels across the Gulf region as symbols of modernity. These hotels, facilitating political meetings, also serve as venues for art exhibitions.

︎︎︎Previous Next︎

E-Issue 07 –– AUHWinter 2023-24

E-07++ Winter/Spring 2024

About ––

Interviews ––

Open Call ––

Newsletter ––

Chronological Archive ––

E-Issue 01 –– AUH/DXB Summer 2020

E-01++ Fall/Winter 2020-21

🎙️GAD Talk Series –– Season 1 2020

E-Issue 02 –– NYC Spring 2021

E-02++ Spring/Summer 2021

E-Issue 03 ––TYO Fall 2021

E-03++ Fall/Winter 2021-22

E-Issue 04 –– IST Spring 2022

E-04++ Spring/Summer 2022

E-Issue 05 –– VCE Fall 2022

E-05++ Fall/Winter 2022-23

E-Issue 06 –– DXB/SHJSpring 2023

🔍 Legal

A Guest at Jameel Arts Centre’s Guest Relations

Hotels are depicted as symbols of modernity and, sociologically, as 'secure' spaces enabling gatherings.

I recall the portrayal of hotels across the Gulf region as symbols of modernity. These hotels, facilitating political meetings, also serve as venues for art exhibitions.

︎︎︎Previous Next︎

E-Issue 07 –– AUH
Winter 2023-24

E-07++
Winter/Spring 2024

E-Issue 01 –– AUH/DXB
Summer 2020

E-01++
Fall/Winter 2020-21

E-Issue 02 –– NYC
Spring 2021

E-02++
Spring/Summer 2021

E-Issue 03 ––TYO
Fall 2021

E-03++
Fall/Winter 2021-22

E-Issue 04 –– IST
Spring 2022

E-04++
Spring/Summer 2022

E-Issue 05 –– VCE
Fall 2022

E-05++
Fall/Winter 2022-23

E-Issue 06 –– DXB/SHJ
Spring 2023