SINKING SHIPS

“Waves wash over it, fogs conceal it;

On a halcyon day it is merely a monument,

In navigable weather it is always a seamark

To lay a course by: but in the sombre season

Or the sudden fury, is what it always was.”

— T. S. Eliot, The Dry Salvages

The dhow, once the lifeblood of the UAE, has gradually diminished in importance with the onset of today’s fast-paced way of life. Many of these majestic boats now lie abandoned and derelict, left to the elements until they slowly fall apart. As an older generation passes away, taking with it a rich seafaring history, modernity and progress continue to transform the landscape. The great vessels of the sea become remnants of another era, buried beneath coastal dunes or the shifting tides.

In Sinking Ships, artists Dariush Zandi and…