Emirati artist Shaikha Al Mazrou has unveiled Deliberate Pauses, a contemplative land art installation nestled in the Hajar Mountains of Hatta. Comprising five monumental red metallic discs, the project is a sculptural trail that engages visitors in a dialogue between movement and stillness, presence and memory, nature and intervention.
Created in collaboration with curator and architect Faysal Tabbarah and supported by the Alserkal Arts Foundation, the installation carves a meditative path into the rugged terrain. The discs—some upright, others tilted into the earth—form visual interruptions across the landscape, inviting viewers to pause and reflect as they journey through the site.
Sculpting Stillness: A Dialogue with the Landscape
At the heart of Deliberate Pauses lies a quiet negotiation between form and land. “I wanted the discs to work with the land’s own intricacies,” says Al Mazrou. “To amplify and negotiate with the space they inhabit, rather than asserting their presence over it.” The bright red steel sculptures appear both monumental and harmonious, their curved shapes embracing the slopes and ridges they occupy.
The work is the result of over three years of exploration and conversation between artist and curator. Al Mazrou recounts long, unstructured walks through the landscape, letting the topography guide her creative intuition. Her process echoes the principles of land art—minimal imposition, organic placement, and deep responsiveness to site.
Tabbarah reflects on the significance of Hatta as a historical and transitional space—neither wholly urban nor rural, but rich with cultural layering. “It is a quiet threshold,” he notes, “inhabited for centuries, shaped by trade, agriculture, and fortification.” This liminal identity reinforces the installation’s core theme of transition: from instinct to intention, from past to future.
A Contemplative Trail Through Time and Space
The five discs, rendered in Al Mazrou’s signature red hue, are positioned to mark contemplative thresholds along the trail. Their presence serves as both physical waypoints and conceptual hinges—anchoring the viewer momentarily in space before allowing them to move forward with renewed awareness. “These pauses are moments to reflect on the land’s historical and cultural significance,” Al Mazrou explains. “And to consider our place within that continuum.”
Balancing restraint and impact, the artist describes a constant tension in her practice: the impulse to leave a mark versus the desire to preserve. “To create within a place is to engage with its heritage, ecology, and temporality,” Tabbarah adds, underlining the ethical awareness that underpins the project.
As viewers follow the disc-shaped markers through Hatta’s mountainous landscape, Deliberate Pauses becomes more than an artwork—it transforms into an experience. One that fosters connection with the land, a reconsideration of time, and a deeper sensitivity to place.