From Al Safa to Starchitecture
Mar 2008 to Oct 2009, the UAE
The theme is about an art project I did in several locations, in Ras Al Khaimah, Wadi Sha’am, Rams, Al Jazerah Al Hamrah and RAK Higher Colleges of Technology (RAKHCT). From ‘Al Safa to ‘Starchitecture’ is an exhibition held at RAKHCT where I was an artist in residence for three months. The exhibition was about a call to preserve the old houses in Ras Al Khaimah, the coastal houses in Jazerah Al Hamrah and the abandoned mountain houses in Al Hajar mountain (Al Safa). It was great to see the committed efforts to renovate Jazerah Al Hamrah before I left the UAE in 2017.
The project revealed new knowledge by looking at modernity, death and human rights through the evolution of building design and urban development in the UAE. My research found that traditional architecture with local materials had an affinity to the natural environment and people and that with the introduction of modern starchitecture a separation from the people occurred in which planned urbanisation redefined society.
