The Third Line is pleased to be participating in the 40th edition of FIAC, Paris, and will be exhibiting works by Abbas Akhavan, Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Hayv Kahraman, Babak Golkar and Youssef Nabil. The booth explores the theme of Making Visible and looks at the nuances that these artists explore in their work which help to bring to attention that which is concealed or not immediately perceptible.
Babak Golkar, L.C. II, 2009-2013, Wood, stain, metal, paint, 38.1 x 38.1 x 5.1 cm
FIAC is one of the leading international art fairs, presenting modern and contemporary art as well as emerging trends. The Third Line will be presenting its artists with more than 180 of the world's leading contemporary galleries from 25 countries.
The artists featured rely on the transcendent quality of art to not only shed light on the obvious, but also on the possibility of what could be seen, thus expressing the belief that the manifest world is merely an isolated case in relation to the universe and that there are many other, latent realities. In this way, art does not just merely reproduce the visible, but makes visible what is commonly not seen.
Babak Golkar’s work comprises of sculptures based on Le Corbusier’s drawings for the Olympic Stadium in Bagdad between 1957-1965, which the architect never saw being realized. It was not until 1981 that Saddam Hussein got a hold of the original plans and built a debased version of it. From the late 1980’s to 2003, Saddam’s eldest son was appointed as the head of Iraq’s Olympic Committee, where he used the stadium not only as a training camp for sports men, but also for torturing and executing them each time they lost in an international match - demonstrating a rejection of the modernist idealism of the Man, Sports and Modernism itself. The L.C. Derivatives, while attempting to retain the aesthetics and techniques used in some modern furniture designs, have been made to resemble medieval torture devices through the use of specific material and scaling of the objects to the scale of the human body.
In Re-Mapping Al-Fahidi, Ebtisam Abdulaziz investigates the transient nature of Dubai as a city in constant state of flux. By questioning the significance of renaming Al Bastakiya, one of its oldest and historical neighborhoods, to Al-Fahidi, Ebtisam draws attention to how the new name alters her understanding of the area. The work invites viewers to discover what is conventionally invisible by bringing attention to the negative space, focusing on Al-Fahidi – void of the old heritage buildings that it is renowned for - and instead highlights the emptiness that is found in between the structures, both the blue sky and the illuminated yellow ground.
Abbas Akhavan is showing a series of small photocopied black and white images representing the nomadic lifestyle of the pre-modern bedouins, illustrating man’s diminishing relationship with animals and plants. In each image, the artist has highlighted the animals and plants using real 22-Carat gold, with gold being used as a nostalgic tool highlighting the erasures of man’s relationship with nature.
Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian’s sculpture from the Bisections of a Circle Series is based on the simplicity of the circle and line. The points of each shape touch the edge of an invisible circle with each geometrical side representing a number which in Islamic geometry reference elements of nature and spirituality; however by joining two overlapping circles Monir also references the mathematical concept of the Venn Diagram. In this manner, the shapes that are described within the circle are also examples of the infinite possibilities, creating both a dynamic relief and a sense of the unknowable that is at the core of human existence and wonder.
The body, as object and subject, has a central function within Hayv Kahraman’s ongoing exploration in social spatiality, highlighting notions of hybridity and diaspora. Through an investigation of the human figure the artist is able to generate an impetus leading to a reconstruction of understandings within contemporary thought – exploring private and public spaces through the lens of the disenfranchised, specifically women and immigrants, and guiding viewers on a personal story through Hayv’s passion for geometry, space, time and the body.
The Veiled Women series by Youssef Nabil features women from the fields of art, music and cinema, all adorning the Mediterranean veil. In these portraits, Youssef ruminates about meanings associated with the veil now and how it was once worn in the Mediterranean cultures. By reincarnating the idea of the veil he loved, Youssef provides an allegory that is in sharp contrast to its connotation in the present day. The portraits echo a loss of innocence and the assimilation of new ideals that delineate between sex and religion.
HORS LES MURS – JARDIN DES PLANTES – For the third consecutive year, FIAC is pleased to present an off-site exhibition in an emblematic and historic Parisian venue, the Jardin des Plantes and the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. This unique location provides the ideal framework for the chosen theme: nature, biodiversity and the environment. Abbas Akhavan is presenting Dirt/Table in this section. The installation visually merges two materials that mediate between nature and culture: farm to table, production to consumption, dirt to mouth, and so on. The sculpture, which renders the dining table useless, is also a formal exercise – the wooden table extends upwards with mulch and manure, a reunion of materials that share certain qualities like colour and origin.
About The Third Line
The Third Line is a Dubai based art gallery that represents contemporary Middle Eastern artists locally, regionally and internationally. The Third Line also hosts non-profit, alternative programs to increase interest and dialogue in the region.
The Third Line also publishes books by associated artists from the region. Books published to date include Presence by photographer Lamya Gargash (2008), In Absentia by Tarek Al-Ghoussein (2009), Cosmic Geometry, an extensive monograph on Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, edited by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Karen Marta (2011), and most recently the self-titled treatise Huda Lutfi about the artist’s Cairo based practice.
Represented artists include: Abbas Akhavan, Ala Ebtekar, Amir H. Fallah, Arwa Abouon, Babak Golkar, Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Farhad Moshiri, Fouad Elkoury, Golnaz Fathi, Hassan Hajjaj, Hayv Kahraman, Huda Lutfi, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Laleh Khorramian, Lamya Gargash, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Pouran Jinchi, Rana Begum, Sahand Hesamiyan, Sherin Guirguis, Shirin Aliabadi, Slavs and Tatars, Sophia Al-Maria, Tarek Al-Ghoussein and Youssef Nabil.
Media Contact
Saira Ansari
PR & Media Coordinator
saira@thethirdline.com | +9714 3411 367
