Strong AUS participation at Emirati Expressions 2

Representatives of the College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) of the American University of Sharjah (AUS) will make a strong showing in this year's edition of Emirati Expressions, Abu Dhabi's photography exhibition, which will open at Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi tomorrow, October 19.

Held under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the exhibition features the work of numerous artists, including 10 Emirati photographers who participated in a photography workshop held during the summer. Four of the Emirati artists exhibiting their work-Fatima Al Yousef, Hadeyeh Badri, Mira Obaid Al Qaseer and Salem Al Qassimi-are AUS alumni. Afra Bin Daher, who is in her fourth year at CAAD, will also be exhibiting.

Three international artists are also part of the exhibition. These are Stephen Shore, an internationally renowned artist who will exhibit his photographs of Abu Dhabi commissioned by the capital's Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC); JR, known for his larger-than-life photographic installations in public places; and Tarek Al-Ghoussein, photographer and CAAD professor whose work has been exhibited internationally and is in private and museum collections around the world.

Explaining his exhibition series entitled (In) Beautification, Al-Ghoussein said, "The (In) Beautification series documents processes associated with landscapes in transition. The images illustrate a desire to diminish the distance between the subject and the environment. Relying on light interventions and non-invasive interactions, the images explore how constructed landscapes reflect struggles to forge an identity while abandoning indigenous horticultural elements that are particular to and serve to define a place."

This second edition of Emirati Expressions continues the theme of the first and reflects on the movement of thoughts, particularly on Emirati cultural heritage.

The exhibition was designed by Kevin Mitchell, AUS Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs and Instruction, and Wasib Mahmoud, an AUS alumnus.

Hadeyeh Badri and Hala Al Ani, both AUS alumni, will create a 500-page catalog for the show.
Emirati Expressions 2 will run from October 19, 2011 to January 28, 2012 at Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi.