‘Hazem Harb. Temporary Museum. For Palestine’, a solo exhibition that includes new works by contemporary Palestinian creative person Hazem Harb, has opened at Marays Arts Centre and will run till Feb 10, 2022.
The gap ceremony was attended by a number of outstanding figures from the United Arab Emirates, notably Sheikha Latifa bint Maktoum, Founder and Director of Tashkeel, Marwan bin Jassim al-Sarkal, Executive Chairman of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), Sheikha Nawar Al Qasimi, Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, Abdelmonem Alserkal, founding father of Alserkal Avenue, and Ahmed al-Qaseer, executive COO of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) and a number of artists from across the UAE.
The opening of the exhibition was declared by the Maraya Art Centre, a non-profit artistic initiative by Shurooq, that supports rising creative persons in the region. Harb tries to capture the essence of the gift of his home country, Palestine, takes the shape of archival materials together with ancient maps, family photographs, and paintings and are displayed in vitrines, loaning it a definite museological aesthetic. Victimization collage-based techniques that incorporate photography and mixed media on a grand scale, the Dubai-based artist items along with a temporary repository that showcases the fragmentary of Palestine’s history. Over the past years, Harb had been collecting rare antique records regarding Palestine on international online auctions, some dating as way back on 1779.
Amongst his acquisitions are ancient maps of Palestine and Phoenicia, books of historical trade routes, family photographs, and even artworks depiction the holy land by specialist painters like David Roberts (1796 – 1864), a recent of J M W Turner. Placed in an installation-based exhibition setting, Harb invitations the viewer to reflect on Palestine with the hope of creating a permanent museum of his possessions for everyone to access in the future. The exhibition, which offers an immersive experience, showcases enlarged historical black and white images of the holy land as backdrops for guests to step inside as if they’re walking inside three-dimensional remnants of a bygone era. Alongside these, existing works by Harb are placed in dialogue with a brand new large-scale installation made of oil containers, shining a light on the importance of Palestine’s natural resources.
whereas it presents the artist’s deep reflection on his roots entrenched between the past, present, and the} future, the exhibition also touches upon themes like diaspora, the follow of archiving, and a nostalgic longing for lost histories. “A museum is a place that holds objects intended to tell and unfold data concerning numerous subjects. A museum is additionally ever-changing, a space that constantly evolves. As I turned 40, I took this time to reflect on my career and the work produced throughout,” Harb said.
“I wanted to have a space to share all my findings, every book, map, photograph, and object that I have collected over the past few years. I immersed myself in extensive research since 2012. I wanted to freeze moments in time, showcasing all the proof to celebrate culture, a temporary story for a permanent history,” he added. Cima Azzam, Maraya Art Centre Curator, noted that the exhibition “marks a turning point in the artist’s career so far. Known for his collage-based approach, Hazem Harb is now enabling viewers to literally walk into an immersive exhibition design portraying the past that he has carefully examined with strong academic rigor and meticulous research.”
“The exhibition reflects on how history is narrated by institutions and individuals and offers audiences food for thought. He’s delving into the history of Palestine and inviting the viewer to listen to Palestinian stories,” she said. The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalog that includes an interview with Harb by exhibition curator Cima Azzam, an essay by Laura Beaney, Director of Communications at Tabari Artspace furthermore as an autobiographical account of Harb, written to mark his fortieth birthday last year. Maraya Art Centre has also released films on the creative person and scheduled an enticing public program comprising workshops, studio tours, and tours on the exhibition.