BEYOND THE GALLERY
Zoom Call in Pause... Reconnecting...
January 2023
Carolina Cortesi
Zoom Call in Pause... Reconnecting... is a performance that reflects on life in an ambitious, fast-paced modern world, where constant movement and digital connection can leave us increasingly disconnected from ourselves and our surroundings.
Through movement, the work explores the tension between speed and stillness, connection and disconnection, inviting audiences to pause and reconsider their relationship with their inner and outer worlds.
Video
Live Mural Painting
January 2022
Ivan Bondarenko & Valeriy Petrichenko
In their live mural painting, Ivan Bondarenko & Valeriy Petrichenko have been engaging the viewers by creating a surreal landscape, bringing a hyper-real image and the otherworldly elements, hidden beneath the surface of reality.
This live mural painting was done during Quoz Arts Fest, an annual event across the creative neighborhood of Al Quoz.
Johanne
March 2021
Joseph McKeever
Displayed in the Courtyard Garden in 2021, Johanne by Joseph McKeever draws inspiration from Joan of Arc, who was burned at the stake in Rouen, France, in 1431.
Joan of Arc was illiterate and could not read or write. During her imprisonment, she was taught by her jailers to write her name. Her signature appears at the bottom of the sculpture, forming a significant detail within the work.
The sculpture is constructed from epoxy resin reinforced with a matrix of woven roving and Kevlar, with a surface coating finished to resemble Corten steel, incorporating a verdigris and blue patina.
Desert Reflection
May 2014
Helidon Xhixha
In Desert Reflection, Helidon Xhixha explores the relationship between abstraction, light, and reflection through the transformation of stainless steel. By manipulating and sculpting the material, Xhixha creates surfaces that capture and refract light, allowing the steel to become a luminous and constantly changing element.
His practice is rooted in the cold-working of stainless steel, folding, turning, and marking the material to create sculptural forms that respond to their surrounding environments. Through these reflections, the work shifts between solid form and optical illusion, inviting viewers to experience the sculpture through their own perspective and interpretation.
As Xhixha explains, “I don’t sculpt steel; I use steel to sculpt light.” His sculptures place the capacity of steel to reflect, illuminate, and interact with its surroundings at the centre of the work, creating an exchange between material, light, environment, and viewer.
Visual Arts Senior Project Exhibition
May 2009
American University Sharjah
The American University of Sharjah Senior Show presents a selection of creative and expressive design works produced by multimedia and visual communication students during their four years of study and research at the American University of Sharjah (AUS).
The exhibition brings together a diverse range of projects that reflect the students’ development throughout their academic experience, highlighting their experimentation, research, and evolving approaches to visual communication and design.
The objective of the exhibition is to share this body of work with faculty, students, and design professionals, offering an opportunity to engage with the outcomes of an extensive period of learning and creative exploration.
Together, the works demonstrate the breadth and diversity of the students’ practices, reflecting the knowledge, skills, and creative perspectives developed during their four years of study.
Featured Artists
American University of Sharjah multimedia and visual communication senior students
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WORKSHOPS
Lucy Park
December 2023
ArtTalk by Lucy
The "Art Talk" and "Art Making" session with children (aged 5 to 11 years) introduces children to the world of photography through a tour of Wilfred Thesiger's photo exhibition. It introduces kids to the process of framing and capturing images. This immersive experience encourages the little ones to explore current exhibitions through observation, discussions, and hands-on art-making activities.
Ziya Ismail
October 2023
Automatic Drawing session
Automatism refers to a technique of subconscious drawing.
During the 1/5 hours of the workshop, the participants will draw on a sheet of paper, each one separately.
Marta Margnetti
March 2023
Under a Floorboard
In association with the Swiss Embassy UAE
Under a Floorboard took its cue from the loci technique, or memory palace, a mnemonic method in which memories and information are associated with specific physical locations. The technique uses the imagination to visualise and organise elements, creating a mental framework for remembering.
During the workshop, participants were invited to use their imaginary space to create an ideal home, with each room representing one or more aspects of their emotional, physical, or psychological world.
Through this process, participants created a personal space belonging entirely to themselves and their imagination—a mental place they could carry with them and return to whenever needed.
Yasmin Sinai
January 2022
The Garden of Paradise
The Garden of Paradise is a cheerful floral installation created by Yasmin Sinai in the centre of the Courtyard. Designed as a welcoming space for enjoyment, interaction, and community engagement, the installation also served as a nest for birds created from recycled paper by participants during Yasmin’s workshop.
An artist and environmentalist, Yasmin Sinai works primarily with recycled paper, creating sculptural forms that often become part of larger installations. The Garden of Paradise reflects her ongoing exploration of nature, sustainability, and collective making, bringing together art, environment, and public participation.
Ziya Ismail
January 2022
Co-Existence
During this performance, Ziya Ismail continued the development of her Co-Existence concept, exploring the relationship between humans and nature through a process of live making.
Using hand-cut and painted pieces of cardboard, Ziya gradually constructed a landscape, layering individual elements to create a visual reflection on the interconnectedness of the natural and human worlds. The performance concluded with a one-line quote written onto the artwork, inviting the audience to pause, think, and reflect on the ideas presented.
An architect by education and practising artist, Ziya Ismail’s work is driven by her connection to nature and her close observation of its details, often translating these observations into explorations of space, environment, and coexistence.
Yasmin Sinai Copy Copy
November 2021
Clown
Inspired by the films of Federico Fellini, this workshop explored the distinctive visual language of one of cinema’s most influential filmmakers. Fellini’s work, known for its blend of fantasy, baroque imagery, theatricality, and earthy realism, provided the starting point for a playful exploration of the clown figure.
Led by Yasmin Sinai, the workshop invited participants to engage with Fellini’s imaginative world and reinterpret its eccentric characters, forms, and visual sensibilities through creative making.
Yasmin Sinai
January 2020
Wasteland Treasures
Yasmin Sinai's project at Total Arts encapsulates the essence of her ongoing practice. Focusing on the accessibility of material, Yasmin has been using discarded paper as her primary medium to create simple and meaningful art. Reducing, reusing and recycling is a recurring themes in her work in general and specifically in her community-based projects. She is addressing the relevance of environmental issues.
The workshop was part of the 8th edition of Quoz Art Fest 2020, the region’s biggest arts and culture festival.
Yasmin Sinai Copy
November 2017
Conference of the Birds
Conference of the Birds, Inspired by the celebrated Persian poet Farid-uddin Attar’s epic poem The Conference of the Birds, the exhibition explored a profound allegory of spiritual transformation and self-discovery.
Led by Yasmin Sinai, the workshop invited participants to create their own paper-mâché angel sculptures.
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