Highlights from Sharjah Biennial 15

By Hamda Althani

Published on April 12th, 2023

The Sharjah Biennial is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Featuring works by over 150 artists from various countries, the biennial kicked off on the 7th of February and will be on until the 11th of June. Reaching the end of my internship with Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF), I had the opportunity to observe some of the behind-the-scenes activities of the biennial. It fascinates me to see how the various organization’s departments work together to create such a large-scale exhibition. Working behind-the-scenes made me understand how important curating is to making sure the art communicates with its audience and thinking about how it affects the community it surrounds. Locations are also spread out within the towns of the Sharjah Emirate, making it the biggest biennial thus far.

As its 30th anniversary, the Sharjah Biennial provides an opportunity to reflect on the various connections and conversations in the region. Hosted by Sharjah Art Foundation, the biennial first edition was held back in 1993. It was organized by the Department of Culture and information of the Emirate of Sharjah, which in turn then appointed Hoor Al Qasimi as head curator in 2003. The 15th edition of the Sharjah Biennial, “Thinking Historically in the Present,” focuses on post-colonialism while exploring the intersectional themes of race, tradition, and imagination. The theme was initially conceptualized by Nigerian curator and writer Okwui Enwezor. Before he passed away in 2019, Al Qasimi carried out his vision and oversaw the biennial. Enwezor was known for his extensive research on global modernisms, the history of museums, exhibitions, and curatorial practice, as well as theories about migration, diaspora, and post-colonial modernisms. Through a comprehensive presentation of over 300 works, Al Qasimi was able to interpret and contextualize Enwezor's vision.

1. Isaac Julien, Once Again … (Statues Never Die), 2022. Commissioned by Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, and Ford Foundation, New York; co-commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation. Additional support provided by Linda Pace Foundation, San Antonio, USA; Carol Weinbaum; Wemhöner Collection, Berlin; and University of California, Santa Cruz. Installation view: Sharjah Biennial 15, Calligraphy Square, Sharjah, 2023. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo: Motaz Mawid.

Installation has played a role in the biennial’s most powerful works. Artists utilize the cruel experiences of colonization by creating immersive experiences that leave viewers in awe. Currently, works are exhibited at 17 different venues across the Emirate of Sharjah, including Sharjah, Al Hamriyah, Al Dhaid, Kalba, and Khorfakkan, allowing the art to be accessible to residents living within the towns. Many structures that were repurposed include the Old Al Dhaid Clinic, Kalba Kindergarten, and Old Al Jubail Vegetable Market. The Biennial takes place in various locations around the city's landmarks, the sites were used in a way to bring all art and artist to fit thematically. We are immersed in motherhood at Bait AlSerkal, transported to the possibilities of a new future at the Flying Saucer, reminded of the migration pain at Kalba Ice Factory and Khorfakkan Art Centre, and exposed to the postcolonial reality that someone else is writing our own history with video installations in Khorfakkan and Sharjah’s Calligraphy Square. The postcolonial history connects people who have also gone through similar painful past experiences, sharing a sense to create works by enfolding the viewer into an environment while also altering their subjective perceptions.

We are immersed in motherhood at Bait AlSerkal, transported to the possibilities of a new future at the Flying Saucer, reminded of the migration pain at Kalba Ice Factory and Khorfakkan Art Centre, and exposed to the postcolonial reality that someone else is writing our own history with video installations in Khorfakkan and Sharjah’s Calligraphy Square.

2. Wangechi Mutu, Buried Bride II (right) and Buried Bride III, 2022. From ‘My Mother's Memories, a Mound of Buried Brides’, 2023. Installation view: Sharjah Biennial 15, Bait Al Serkal, Arts Square, Sharjah, 2023. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation.

Bait Al Serkal was formerly known as the home of Issa Al Serkal, a Commissioner for the British Crown in the Arabian Gulf, and was later turned into the first maternity hospital in the 1960s, where many residents of Sharjah were born. The space’s historical factors were used to exhibit works that interpret maternity, feminism, and womanhood; each piece upholds a unique narrative on these themes. Displayed within the courtyard is Wangechi Mutu’s sculptural installation Mother’s Memories (2023), which resembles a rounded abdomen of a pregnant woman. Climbing onto the installation, we become small again, allowing us to remember an ambiance of warmth within the darkness. In this context, the space allows for an interactive experience, connecting ideas of roots to maternity.

The space’s historical factors were used to exhibit works that interpret maternity, feminism, and womanhood.

2. Wangechi Mutu, Mother Mound, 2023. From ‘My Mother's Memories, a Mound of Buried Brides’, 2023. Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation. Installation view: Sharjah Biennial 15, Bait Al Serkal, Arts Square, Sharjah, 2023. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo: Shanavas Jamaluddin.

After birth, we continue on our journey looking for new beginnings on the way, sometimes a blank canvas to reinvent and correct what has been done in the past. Like the possibility of another planet, a ground zero for a new civilization where all prejudice is gone, and we can enter a new era of equality and freedom away from the past. We can see these ideas explored within the Flying Saucer, a space that bears many nostalgic memories to locals. The iconic star-shaped building that was previously known as a restaurant and later renovated as a new space for the foundation. The location offers a space to exhibit otherworldly environments, audiences are invited onto another planet within Kambui Olujimi’s installation comprising paintings, sound, and sculptures exhibited on blue sand, engaging in an outer world experience by wearing shoe coverings as if we’re gearing up to space.

On the other hand, new beginnings are not always in our hands. Sometimes we are forced uprooted from our soil and forced to create new roots in new foreign soil. A harsh reality for many families and societies postcolonialism, among many other reasons. Where this topic was explored in the biennial within Kalba Ice Factory. The space was used to exhibit some of the biennial’s large-scale installations. Doris Salcedo, one of the winners of the 2023 Sharjah Biennial Prize, her sculptural work, Uprooted (2020-22), which consists of 804 dead trees. Through Salcedo's work, she explores the various ways that loss and transformation can be interpreted.

3. Doris Salcedo,Uprooted, 2020–2022. 804 dead trees and steel; 3000 x 650 x 500 cm. Installation view: Sharjah Biennial 15, Kalba Ice Factory, Sharjah Art Foundation, 2023. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Juan Castro.

As part of my internship, I got the chance to meet a few artists and even participate in a collaborative mural project at Khorfakkan Art Centre with artists Meleanna Meyer, Solomon Enos and Kahi Ching. The mural is used to bring their practice and ideas of honoring ancestors while addressing the topic of historical trauma, as well as conveying the healing process, to focus on healing from the past and an empowerment of the present. They gave us the opportunity to reflect on the importance of water as a precious resource within the UAE. Meyer guides us as a community together through our historical similarities by collaborating with other local artists, bringing us to work in harmony. The mural is currently displayed outside the centre.

Meyer guides us as a community together through our historical similarities by collaborating with other local artists, bringing us to work in harmony.

While within the centre we are welcomed by Meyer’s double-sided mural installation Āina Aloha (2016). At six meters wide, the mural expresses earthly tones to the native Hawaiian nature and people, creating a narrative of passing on tradition from one generation to the next while also celebrating land, culture, and spirit. It is quite a counterpoint to the Hawaiian tourist industry's exotically-themed clichés. As continue towards the backside of the mural, at that moment, we realized that the narrative did not end, as pain lingers on the other side, abstract shapes take over with hands reaching out. Reminiscent of Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, she explored through this work the relationship between Hawaiian culture and cruel ways of colonization. Later when we spoke, Meyer explained the reasoning behind the teal color that contrasts with the bright red, she said “I wanted to allow the healing process to flow through from the other side of the mural, almost like a portal”.

“I wanted to allow the healing process to flow through from the other side of the mural, almost like a portal.”

- Meleanna Meyer

Also dealing with persistent pain of the colonial past, Um Al Dhabaab (Mother of Fog) (2023), a film by Farah Al Qasimi humorously shows a British sailor wrongly identifying the ruling tribe of Ras Al Khaimah as pirates and the folkloric tales that stemmed from the colonial rule. Experimenting with digital graphics and internet aesthetics, the film challenges the western narrative about the Gulf and its imperialist influences. Al Qasimi further explores the conflict of portrayal within the context of the present day through her work, which draws parallels between her childhood and the pirate-oriented video games she grew up with titled “Monkey Island”. Viewers are invited to sit on bean bags decorated with flower pattern material, creating she creates a welcoming feel, reminiscent of blankets typically used within Arab homes. Al Qasimi is known for incorporating patterned blankets in numerous works.

4. Farah Al Qasimi, Um Al Dhabab (Mother of Fog), 2023. Co-produced by Sharjah Art Foundation and KADIST, Paris and San Francisco. Installation view: Sharjah Biennial 15, Khorfakkan Art Centre, 2023. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo: Danko Stjepanovic.

Experimenting with digital graphics and internet aesthetics, the film challenges the western narrative about the Gulf and its imperialist influences.

One of the most captivating pieces of the biennial is Isaac Julien’s five-channel video installation, Once Again … (Statues Never Die) (2022) in Calligraphy Square. The video installation shares with us footage of looted African art, stolen by traders, explorers and colonial officials as part of their collections. Further dispute on how these artifacts came to ownership, which still remains an issue to the present day, as many individuals feel a loss of heritage and identity. Within the film Julien also creates a conversation with two influential figures: Albert Barnes, an African art collector, and Alain Locke, a philosopher and critic. He explores the relationship between Barnes and Locke, focusing on their differing points of view regarding the acceptance and categorization of Black artists. One of the many highlights within the film features Alice Smith’s voice, adding a new layer of emotion with her empowering lyrics, “I’m making a new way … for us once again”, signifying the desire for new beginnings.

The addition of reflective aluminum behind the screens creates an illusion of a large space, while the experience itself requires the viewers to move within the space and connect the visuals together as each screen projects a different angle to the story. The overall atmosphere transports us to another dimension, making us forget that we are still in Sharjah. Through the video installation, viewers are able to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation, as these historical pieces hold a sense of pride for those whose ancestors created them. Awed by the performance, It lead to me to revisit the installation several times.

3. Above: African ceremonial mask, unknown location (year unknown) presented as part of Isaac Julien’s Once Again … (Statues Never Die), 2022. Commissioned by Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, and Ford Foundation, New York; co-commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation. Additional support provided by Linda Pace Foundation, San Antonio, USA; Carol Weinbaum; Wemhöner Collection, Berlin; and University of California, Santa Cruz. Installation view: Sharjah Biennial 15, Calligraphy Square, Sharjah, 2023. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo: Motaz Mawid.
Bottom: Richmond Barthé, Stevedore (1937), presented as part of Isaac Julien’s Once Again … (Statues Never Die), 2022. Commissioned by Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, and Ford Foundation, New York; co-commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation. Additional support provided by Linda Pace Foundation, San Antonio, USA; Carol Weinbaum; Wemhöner Collection, Berlin; and University of California, Santa Cruz. Installation view: Sharjah Biennial 15, Calligraphy Square, Sharjah, 2023. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo: Motaz Mawid.

The pieces that have caught my attention have led me to think about my own new beginnings, finishing up my last semester of college. I look forward to continuing my own practice and bringing life to new art. Overall, the works of Sharjah Biennial 15, and theme avoid providing definitive answers to the questions addressed in art historical discourses and canonical works but have instead encouraged a space of collective engagement while allowing the public to participate in the immersive experience.

Enwezor’s impact truly broke down stereotypes and barriers, expanding the Western perspective while bringing to Sharjah a fresh perspective that drew from the past to push forward into the present. It is not possible to visit every location of the Biennial in a day, but I recommend visitors take the time to thoroughly explore the various areas of the city.

Enwezor’s impact truly broke down stereotypes and barriers, expanding the Western perspective while bringing to Sharjah a fresh perspective that drew from the past to push forward into the present.

Hamda Althani is a multidisciplinary artist, her practice explores the impact of the Internet on culture and identity through a variety of mediums including, video, installation and painting.

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Highlights from Sharjah Biennial 15

The space’s historical factors were used to exhibit works that interpret maternity, feminism, and womanhood.

Meyer guides us as a community together through our historical similarities by collaborating with other local artists, bringing us to work in harmony.

“I wanted to allow the healing process to flow through from the other side of the mural, almost like a portal.”

Experimenting with digital graphics and internet aesthetics, the film challenges the western narrative about the Gulf and its imperialist influences.

Enwezor’s impact truly broke down stereotypes and barriers, expanding the Western perspective while bringing to Sharjah a fresh perspective that drew from the past to push forward into the present.

︎︎︎Previous Next︎

E-Issue 08 –– SELSummer/Fall 2024

E-08++ Summer/Fall 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

E-Issue 07 –– AUHWinter 2023-24

E-07++ Winter/Spring 2024

🔍 Legal

Highlights from Sharjah Biennial 15

The space’s historical factors were used to exhibit works that interpret maternity, feminism, and womanhood.

Meyer guides us as a community together through our historical similarities by collaborating with other local artists, bringing us to work in harmony.

“I wanted to allow the healing process to flow through from the other side of the mural, almost like a portal.”

Experimenting with digital graphics and internet aesthetics, the film challenges the western narrative about the Gulf and its imperialist influences.

Enwezor’s impact truly broke down stereotypes and barriers, expanding the Western perspective while bringing to Sharjah a fresh perspective that drew from the past to push forward into the present.

︎︎︎Previous Next︎

E-Issue 08 –– SEL
Summer/Fall 2024

E-08++
Summer/Fall 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
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