48. 03Wednesday, November 12, 2008 www.thenational.ae
TheNational arts&life
Gita Meh has a love-hate relation-
shipwithsettlingdown.TheIranian
conceptual artist has moved 146
times and packed up more apart-
ments than she can remember.
And, though a wanderer at heart,
she nonetheless yearns for a place
to call home.
HerlatestshowatTashkeelGallery
in Dubai, 27 Years of Migration,
chronicles her wanderings, explor-
ing issues of identity along the way.
It features installations, videos and
mixed media work which examine
the idea of finding oneself and find-
ing a home.
The result is a large-scale installa-
tion piece, Walls, Veils and Voices,
which straddles the line between
beautiful and frightening. Seven
sculptures – or rather rough semi-
circles made of chicken wire and
plaster – are placed in a circle in
a darkened room apart from the
rest of the gallery. Each sculpture
is a little more complete than the
next. The installation begins with a
wire skeleton, then progresses to a
plastered wire frame and ends with
the completed sculpture. The final
work is a woman’s form draped in
black with her plaster interior filled
with dozens of onions.
Meanwhile, a projector funnels
a kaleidoscopic image of zillij, or
Moroccan patterned ceramic tiles,
onto the walls and the sculp-
tures while Meh’s voice resonates
throughout the room in calming
tones: “This is my surrounding
structure; this is my layout.”
Viewerswalkingintotheroomadd
another dimension to the installa-
tion, their shadows looming large
on the wall as they stroll past the
floor-mounted projector.
The atmosphere may be dark
and sinister with the stench of the
onions and the mysterious cloaked
figures, but Meh says this is not at
all her intention.
“I’m talking about MiddleEastern
culture and our way of life,” she
says. “I found my culture nourish-
ing when I was far away from it.”
Meh straddles the bound-
ary between western and Middle
Eastern culture and has been in a
constant process of learning new
languages and cultures to find her
place in various societies. Born
in Tehran in 1963, Meh has lived
in Europe and the United States
for half of her life. When she first
moved to Los Angeles to attend
the California Institute of the Arts,
Meh found that her peers and even
her teachers had many misconcep-
tionsaboutIslamicculture.Though
Meh is from Iran, she played the
role of ambassador, explaining the
region’s culture to colleagues that
she says “had no idea about the
Middle East”.
As a victim of her colleagues’
stereotypes, Meh became an
archetype of the oppressed woman.
Rather than launch into a verbal
argument, Meh offers her work as a
rebuttal,achancetopresentamore
accurate version of her culture.
“I want to be looked at as layers of
existence beyond veils or T-shirts
and jeans,” she says. “We are all
more than our facade.”
Meh has put herself and her own
façade at the centre of her photo-
graphic series, The Boxed Road:
From Los Angeles to Dubai, in which
she dons a protective layer of bub-
ble wrap over clothing as if she were
a package. In the first image, an
expressionless Meh stands in front
of a blank white wall surrounded by
large brown cardboard boxes in her
oldLosAngeleshome.Inothers,she
isonablue-paintedwoodendhowin
Dubai, sitting inanimate among the
suitcasesandtarpaulinbags.
Standing tall in her bubble-wrap,
Meh sometimes wears an expres-
sion of dignified determination
and,othertimes,acooldetachment
reminiscent of Cindy Sherman’s
film stills. One of the most compel-
ling photos on display shows Meh
standing on a barge, her striking
features framed by a metal grille,
sky-blue paint peeling off the deco-
rativemetalwork.Thoughshelooks
wary in the images, Meh actually
holds the idea of migration in high
regard.
“What inspired me was that I had
moved from city to city, continent
to continent and if I’m not moving
I’m idle,” she says. “And if I am idle,
I don’t go through the process of
evolution.” Meh compares herself
to a fish that must continue to swim
in order to stay alive.
Indeed, there is an element of
movement, whether implied or
actual, in nearly all of Meh’s work
at Tashkeel Gallery. Another series
of 56 small warmly lit colour pho-
tos compiled into one larger Ead-
weard Muybridge-style print, called
The Boxed Road: Maps No More,
features Meh in her bubble-wrap
veil sporting Pocahontas braids,
twirling, unwrapping and rewrap-
ping herself frame by frame.
Her video installation In
Herknowlogy features a group of
four sculptures, black-veiled fig-
ures with monitor screens as faces
standing across from each other.
Meh’s voice whispers to viewers: “I
saved my history into the hard drive
of my soul.” Meanwhile, images of
a bright red apple decorated with
gold Farsi script pop up as stills
on the monitors, then begin to
spin wildly. Meh says Herknowlogy
represents the dialogue between
technology and theology, but the
installation has a kind of sci-fi hor-
ror film aesthetic as apple heads
whirl frenetically inside the hoods
of the female figures.
It is work that demands a lot from
the viewer and takes time to deci-
pher; it is not decorative or pretty
in the traditional sense. Meh says
she thinks of installation art as a
less tangible art form that suits her
work’s concerns: mortality, nour-
ishment and the passage of time.
“It’struethattheMiddleEastisvery
paint-orientated,” says Meh.
Installation art is still something
of an anomaly in Dubai. Jill Hoyle,
the manager of Tashkeel Gallery,
says, “I don’t think installation art
is frequently shown here, but she’s
dealing with such interesting con-
cepts and ones that affect so many
residents in Dubai that it’s worth
exploring them.”
In a place that is trying to decipher
its own distinctive visual culture,
art that leaps off the canvas and
into the viewer’s personal space
is sometimes seen as somehow
antagonistic. Installation art forces
theviewertointeractwithitinaway
that can be not only mentally un-
comfortable but physically uncom-
fortable as well. But the same feel-
ings that installation art provokes
are also what make it interesting.
“I think if art is for the people then
theyshouldbeapartofit,”saysMeh,
and Walls, Veils and Voices, engages
the viewer on a number of differ-
ent levels, from sculpture to dizzy-
ing pattern projections to the smell
of the onions, which has become
ratherpungentsincetheexhibitwas
mountedinmid-October.
“Gita is a conceptual artist wheth-
er she’s painting or working on
sculptures, installations or her
photographs,” Hoyle says. She
describes Meh’s work as acces-
sible but challenging, though not
controversial.
“You can still relate to some of the
issuesthatarerelevanttowomenall
over the world,” Hoyle says. “Gita’s
experience is very much a blend of
the East and the West and shereally
doesbringthetwotogetherthrough
everything that she does. I think
there are ways you can respond
to them as a woman without
necessarily being an Arab or Mus-
lim woman, or a woman from this
region – the issues are relevant to
women all over the world.”
Meh has found a home among the
diversity of cultures in the UAE and
settled in her new habitat. She has
been delving further into the idea of
constructionsofidentityandtheself.
“I was working until three or four in
themorningcreatingthisnewinstal-
lation,”shesays.“Andthewholecon-
cepthappenedhereintheUAE.”
Though Meh’s work centres on
transitions,shesaysthatsheprefers
being settled, particularly here.
“Dubai is it for me, because I
am neither Eastern nor Western
anymore,” she says. “Dubai gives
metheabilitytobebothatthesame
time.”
swolff@thenational.ae
Movementandidentity
The Iranian artist Gita Meh explores migration and evolution in her show at Tashkeel Gallery. Sarah Wolff explains
Meh offers her
work as a rebuttal
of stereotypes, a
chance to present
a more accurate
version of her culture
TheBoxedRoad:MapsNoMorebyGitaMeh.Courtesy Zahra Pedram
GitaMeh‘sphotographicseriesTheBoxedRoad:FromLosAngelestoDubaiispartofthe27YearsofMigrationexhibitionattheTashkeelGallery.Courtesy Tashkeel
visualarts
49.
50. E X H I B I T I O NFRIDAY
FEBRUARY 26, 2010 1 5
audience as art.” The concept reflects the
artist’s collective understanding of inte-
grating borderlines. “Soffreh reflects the
architecture of my past in a personal con-
text,” Meh says, stressing its sole purpose
— to promote a sense of generosity, mercy
and peace. “Islam means integrating, not
discriminating.”
In another set of works, Meh scans her
body parts with a digital scanner and layers
them with poetry and Iranian architectural
designs. “I lived the life of a migrant and
was scanned at all times throughout my
journeys,” she says.
British painter and photographer George
Lewis is extremely passionate about Mid-
dle Eastern culture. His affinity for the Ori-
ent comes from an interest in the culture,
language and people of the region. “I chal-
lenge people’s misconceptions by showing
this world for what it really is — a place
of openness where empathy is essential,”
Lewis says. “The Middle East is a vital part
of global politics. I find a certain amount
of truth in Edward Said’s Orientalism. How-
ever, I do not accept that the West’s love
for the Orient is tied to a neo-colonial con-
spiracy towards the East.”
While showing the many and unexpected
aspects of this extraordinary part of the
world, Lewis emphasises on the amazing
transformation of the Gulf region over the
past few decades by juxtaposing the old
and the new, the traditional and the mod-
ern, the rural and the urban and the huge
cultural variety that exists
throughouttheMiddleEast.
In his images, the Arabs and
Bedouins stand with their
horses, camels and falcons
against the backdrop of
contemporary architecture
and oil refineries. Lewis’s
most recent work focuses
on Arab women and their
many styles of veils.
“GenderinIslamisa high-
ly charged issue among lay-
men and religious scholars
alike,” Lewis says. “If some
blame Islam for the oppres-
sion of women, others see it as a beacon of
hope for reform. The explanations are as
diverse as the Islamic world itself. Thus,
charting the progression or regression of
women, whether under secular or religious
governments, is a difficult task.”
“Being an outsider gives one a vantage
point to observe a culture and celebrate it
from a unique perspective,” he says. “I also
seek to capture the more sensitive side of
humanity, the time when we are more vul-
nerable. In this sense, my pictures are spir-
itually motivated.”
Lebanese photographer Raja Kanafani
captures daily life in Beirut in all its aspects
in remarkable black-and-white images.
The photographs are classical in style
but contemporary in
subject and time frame,
revealing a unique per-
spective of the city and
its people.
“Beirut has always
been a crossroads for
people passing through
the region,” Kanafani
says. “Its richness, its
chaos and its unparal-
leled beauty appeal to
everyone.”
Born and raised in
Lebanon, Kanafani went
on to finish his studies
in political science and philosophy in the
United States. He worked as an editor and
copywriter after the end of the Lebanese
civil war, before picking up a camera and
focusing on Beirut’s streets.
“Pictures always jump out at me, telling
a much more interesting story than what
any text could convey, leaving much more
to the imagination,” Kanafani says.
Deriving inspiration from similar influ-
ences is French photographer Vincent
Sannier, who adds a keen sense of sagac-
ity — poetic in vision yet materialistic in
technique — to his photographs. With an
obsession to explore life, he captures the
essence of his subjects and combines it
with a blend of colour and light.
“It’s a question of feelings actually. The
black-and-white effect brings with it an
added vitality that otherwise seems to be
missing in coloured textures. Sometimes,
the process is just the opposite,” Sannier
says. “I came to Brooklyn Bridge several
times. There was something magical hap-
pening there and something special about
the human scale that could be best cap-
tured in colour.”
Sannier started as a photojournalist when
he was just 17, covering music and sports
for lifestyle magazines.
While pursuing his studies he did archi-
tectural photography on the side. Accord-
ing to Sannier, observing the use of space
in architecture helped him develop a sense
of aesthetics, which led to the perfect foun-
dation for a lifelong love affair with pho-
tography. “We make use of directions but
we never know where we arrive,” he says.
“The mystery of discovery guides me. The
most exciting is the unknown.” The out-
come is aesthetically pleasing, bearing an
impression that is charismatic and natural.
“I hate digital photography,” he says. “For
me, the discipline that respects the craft
of an image and print is fundamental. To
destroy those negatives is like slitting my
eyes with a blade.”
Layla Haroon is a freelance writer based in Abu Dhabi.
Photography 1 is on at the Salwa Zeidan Art Gallery, Abu
Dhabi, until March 10.
Gita Meh uses images of scanned body
parts in her work (left and above) to
reflect on her many journeys, during
which she had to go through a scanner
at every checkpoint
By using visual and
written languages,
the artist draws
from personal history
and its implications in
modern times to form
a space for human
interaction and
cultural integration.
Above: A work by Lebanese artist
Raja Kanafani, who captures daily life in
Beirut in his black-and-white images
51.
52.
53. Publication: InsideOut Country: Pan Arab
Date: September 2008 Page: 98-104 Circulation: 42,000
Article: Cultural Nourishment
54. Publication: InsideOut Country: Pan Arab
Date: September 2008 Page: 98-104 Circulation: 42,000
Article: Cont. Cultural Nourishment
55. Publication: InsideOut Country: Pan Arab
Date: September 2008 Page: 98-104 Circulation: 42,000
Article: Cont. Cultural Nourishment
56. Artist: Gita Meh
Artwork: Sweet City
Description: Nabat (Sugar) & Acrylic structure
Display duration: 15 March - 15 June 2010
Gita Meh works with many mediums, from paintings to installations, sculpture
to poetry, photography to performance; in her attempt to touch all aspects of
sensation and intellect in her views. She has often involved herself with food
preparations and rituals, thus engaging taste, smell and touch, as well sound
and sight. Sweet City follows in this vein.
This sculpture has been specially made for the DIFC by the Artist and will
become part of its corporate collection.
Display duration: 22 March - 22 June 2010 (on loan from Carbon 12 Gallery, Dubai)
This installation deals with the signs of eternal renewal and re-emergence of
life, a reminder of our past and the life to come. Crossing through deserts
kilometer of work. The combination of the notion of time and space, effort and
achievement is paying homage to workers and work itself.
Issue 7, May / June 2010
64. First Gallery (Rome, Italie)
Aron Demetz, Homo Erectus (Petra), 2007, bronze, 80cm, courtesy First Gallery
Davide coltro, Medium Color Landscape, 2007, digitalphoto, 50x60 cm, courtesy First Gallery
Miltos Manetas, Chinese Girl in the Desert, 2006, digital drawing on photographic paper, 126 x 171 cm, courtesy, courtesy First Gallery
Focus Gallery Dubai (Dubai, Emirats Arabes Unis)
Gita Meh, Barbies Relocated from Iran, photographie, 50 X 70 cm , courtesy Focus Gallery
Furini Arte Contemporanea (Arezzo, Italie)
F.lli Calgaro, Venitudine, 2007, color print on alluminium, 60 x 80 cm, Copyright F.lli Calgaro
Maurizio Anzeri, Related, (détail) 2006, fil sur photo, 30x40 cm, courtesy Galleria Furini Arte Contemporanea
William Cobbing, The kiss, 2004, extrait vidéo, 3’33’’, Copyright William Cobbing
galerieACDC(Brest, France)
Pierre Labat, Dum-Dum, 2008, contreplaqué, acrylique, dimensions variables, photo et copyright P. Labat.
Yann Lestrat, Sans titre # 8 (Et in Arcadia ego, Islande, 2007), 2008, tirage photographique diasec, 150x116 cm, photo Marc Loyon, copyright Y. Lestrat
