Word into Art: Artists of the Modern
Middle East
18 May – 2 September 2006
Room 35
Admission free
The cultural, political and religious history of the Middle East
has long provided inspiration for the artists, poets and writers of
the region. The British Museum, in partnership with Dubai Holding,
presents, Word into Art, a new exhibition that highlights
the contemporary art of the Middle East reflecting issues of
identity and politics and the diverse artistic heritage of the
region. The exhibition focuses on the different ways artists engage
and experiment with Arabic script. This not simply because writing
takes so many varied and interesting forms, but because grouping
the works together thematically, and looking at what is written
within them, gives an insight into the rich literary and artistic
cultures of this region, as well as into the ways in which artists
are affected by history and by current world politics.
Word into Art will feature works by over eighty artists
from countries across the Middle East and North Africa. Although
many of the artists still live in their countries of origin, a
significant number have left the region and now form a Middle
Eastern Diaspora. The majority of objects in the exhibition are
from the British Museum’s collection of contemporary Middle Eastern
art.
The exhibition will be divided into four sections. The first,
Sacred Script, explains the relationship between Arabic script and
the religion of Islam, showing the enduring vitality of the Islamic
calligraphic tradition today. It focuses on artists and
calligraphers who use established styles of script but in
contemporary formats, inspired by a belief in God and the holy
texts. The innovative work of Ahmad Moustafa, Kamal Boullata and
Erol Akyavas feature in this section. The powerful literary
tradition of the Middle East, the enduring appeal of ancient and
modern Arabic and Persian poetry, and the appeal of the work of
Sufi writers is evoked in the second section, Literature and Art.
Works by Hassan Massoudy, Etel Adnan, Abdallah Benanteur, Shirin
Neshat and Farhad Moshiri reveal how artists seek to find ever more
inventive ways of writing or illustrating these famous texts. The
third section, Deconstructing the Word, examines the use
of script in Middle East abstract art from the mid 20th century to
the present day. Here the messages are more ambivalent and link
with past or present identities in subtle ways. Letters and words
are sometimes legible but more often they are not, having been
turned into beautiful abstract patterns by artists such as Rachid
Koraichi, Faisal Samra, Abdul Qadir al-Raes, Parviz Tanavoli and
Ghada Amer. Finally, Identity, History and Politics looks at the
ways in which the words embedded in these works can provide us with
real snapshots of history and social commentary as well as
revealing reactions to the region’s devastating conflicts during
the past few decades. Included here is the work of Sabah Naim,
Kareem Risan, Walid Raad, Youssef Nabil and Khusrau Hasan-Zade.
In addition to the work featured in
Room 35, a specially commissioned sculpture by well known Iraqi
artist Dia al-Azzawi will be in the Great Court along with other
sculptures by Iranian artist Parviz Tanavoli.
Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum comments "This
exhibition is the first of its kind in Europe and it reveals that
the truths that need communicating to the world about the Middle
East are not one but many. We are grateful to Dubai Holding for
their help and support with the exhibition."
Fadel Al Ali, Chief Operating Officer of Dubai Holding says "I’m
glad that Dubai Holding has taken this opportunity to partner with
The British Museum to host such an excellent exhibition. In the
Middle East, Dubai Holding is committed to encouraging innovation
in all aspects of our society and developing the talents of the
artistic community in the region is a very important part of this
goal. This exhibition demonstrates just how impressive these
talents are." For more information or images please contact
Hannah Boulton on 020
7323 8522/8583, or Alex Robat on 020 7936 1296,
Notes to Editors:
- A fully illustrated book to accompany ‘Word
into Art’ written and edited by Venetia Porter will be available
from British Museum Press. (Available at £16.99 in hardback and
£11.99 in paperback)
- A wide-ranging public programme, Middle East
Now , will accompany the exhibition. Highlights include an
international conference on contemporary art in the Middle East (20
May) attended by artists and critics; a study day on Faith in the
Middle East (10 June) with new perspectives by scholars and writers
on the study of Islam, Christianity and Judaism; a series of high
profile lectures covering literature, culture and politics of the
contemporary Middle East as well as poetry readings, performances
and artists demonstrations in the exhibition and the Great Court
(19 and 21st May). In addition a film season showing the best of
recent cinema from Turkey, North Africa and the Middle East. For
more details contact the press office.
About Dubai Holding
Dubai Holding was launched to consolidate the various large
scale infrastructure and investment projects, which are
headquartered in Dubai, that were created over the past five years
as well as to research, identify and execute future major projects
that will benefit the Middle East and North Africa.
The company has been created with the goal of providing a better
future for all - across the range of life-improving industries it
is involved in. Each of the Dubai Holding operating companies
focuses on key areas which will dynamically support the development
of Dubai as a world leading hub for commerce, leisure and finance,
in turn driving these companies to become leaders in their
respective fields in the Middle East and beyond.
Dubai Holding currently has 20 companies operating in a variety
of sectors ranging from health, technology, finance, real estate,
research, education, tourism, energy, communication, industrial
manufacturing, biotechnology and hospitality.
These companies include: Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City,
Dubai Healthcare City, Dubailand, Dubai International Capital,
Dubai Industrial City, Dubai Properties, Dubai International
Properties, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Energy, Dubai Knowledge
Village, Dubai Outsource Zone, International Media Production Zone,
E-Hosting Datafort, Empower, SamaCom, Jumeirah Group, Tatweer,
Dubiotech and Dubai Studio City.