Kochi-Muziris Biennale
“Binary States, India – UAE”
is an exhibition exploring the bilateral relations between India and the UAE across multiple disciplines. Besides highlighting Emirati-Indian ties through various mediums and topics, the exhibition is celebrating overlapping elements in both cultures dating back to decades and encompassing social, urban, and economic ties.”
A curatorial collaboration between Cultural Engineering and Umer Butt, the exhibition manifested a strong bilateral dialogue between two historic port countries, the United Arab Emirates and India. It was in representation of the United Arab Emirates in the third edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale in 2016. The rendition was a collective of works by Rasha Al Duwaisan, Ammar Al Attar and Vikram Divecha, showcasing visuals, sounds and words that captured what both countries shared over the years and learnt from one another.
Hoisting Histories by Rasha Al Duwaisan
Hoisting Histories is an Oral History installation featuring stories of migration between India and the Trucial States/United Arab Emirates in the mid- twentieth century. It chronicles the lives of Indians in the Emirates and Emiratis in India at a time of imminent change, unearthing memories of trepidation, faith and persistence.
Reverse Moments by Ammar Al Attar
Delving into an exploration of Prem Ratnam’s photo archives, this photo-documentation project series revolves around a documentation process whereby Ratnam’s lifelong practice in the UAE is revived through the reproduction of his archive. Through the use of a camera copy stand and film development techniques, Prem’s prints, documents and objects will be documented and exhibited.
Veedu by Vikram Divecha
Veedu means house in Malayalam. For the strong community from Kerala living and working in the UAE, building a house back in their native place holds strong importance. It is often one of the largest investments they make in their lifetime. These houses take many shapes, and are, at times influenced by architecture from the Gulf. So, besides the traditional house, such as the Nalukettu, one is also witnessing a contemporary aesthetic surfacing in the state of Kerala. The remittances that are directed towards these houses in Kerala take many forms, - from aesthetics to arbab-ness, from longing to pride, and the many individual nuances that emerge from years of living abroad. Following the design process of houses to be built in Kerala, this project will be shaped by the exchanges between UAE based clients and a Kerala based architectural design and construction firm. Conversations and recordings in Malayalam, and Auto- Cad screen videos will bring this film to life. The making of this project will work as an exchange between UAE and Kerala. The film will accumulate in increments over time at the exhibition site, as the house plan comes to shape.