At Dubai’s Ishara Art Foundation, Abu Dhabi-born artist Khaled Esguerra introduces a bold installation as part of the summer exhibition “No Trespassing,” running until August 30. The show gathers six UAE-based and South Asian artists to explore boundaries—physical, cultural, and institutional—through reimagined street art within the gallery setting.
Esguerra’s largest work to date spans more than 800 sheets of carbon paper glued to copier paper, and it challenges traditional gallery norms. “Well, for one, there’s no way to interact with my work without literally trespassing into the space,” he told Arab News. Visitors are encouraged to step onto the piece, breaking the invisible barrier that usually separates art from audience.
Street Language in a White Cube
The installation incorporates materials commonly found in informal city advertisements, capturing the spirit of the streets. “Being faithful to the medium was important to me,” Esguerra said. “But more than the medium, I wanted to convey the atmosphere of the streets … I loved it!” Beneath the layered surface, words such as “heritage,” “legacy,” and “authentic” emerge, prompting reflection on their meaning amid redevelopment.
“The work is really a critique on redevelopment schemes,” he explained. “By revealing (these) words … I wanted them to be confronted by this vocabulary and question their role in these manufactured changes in historic neighborhoods.” The communal process of creating the piece also shaped its impact. “It took a village and a half to develop this piece,” Esguerra added, noting that collaboration continues to drive his practice despite its personal nature.