https://layanattari.com Layan Attari Sat, 21 Sep 2024 00:57:22 +0000 https://layanattari.com en https://layanattari.com/CV Fri, 12 Jan 2024 20:19:16 +0000 Layan Attari https://layanattari.com/CV Education: 2023 / MFA in Art Theory and Practice, Northwestern University 2011 / BSc in Multimedia Design, American University of Sharjah Group Exhibitions: 2026 / What Images, The College of New Jersey, Trenton, NJ 2025 / Proximities, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, KR 2025 / Dawn Chorus, Comfort Station, Chicago, IL2023 / What am I to do with a weak mirror?, The Block Museum, Evanston, IL 2022 / Branding Conflict, Space 204, Nashville, TN 2021 / Total Landscaping, Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi, UAE 2021 / Plant, Animal, Mineral, Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE 2020 / Do You See Me How I See You?, Maisan15, Dubai, UAE 2020 / Forming Outlines, Fikra, Sharjah, UAE 2019 / Community &amp; Critique: Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship, Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi, UAE 2019 / Cry Me A River, Office Space, Dubai, UAE 2018 / Campus Art Dubai Open Studios, Project Space Art Jameel, Dubai, UAE 2017 / Made in Tashkeel, Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE Residencies, Programs: 2026 / Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY2025 / Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Madison, ME2024 / Chuquimarca Tanda Research Cohort, Chicago, IL 2023 / Stiftung Künstlerdorf Schöppingen, Schöppingen, Germany 2020 / Campus Art Dubai 8.0 Residency, Dubai, UAE 2019 / Fikra Design Residency, Sharjah, UAE 2019 / The Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship, Abu Dhabi, UAE 2018 / Triple Canopy Publication Intensive, Los Angeles, CA 2016 / Campus Art Dubai 5.0, Dubai, UAE 2015 / Campus Art Dubai 4.0, Dubai, UAEGrants: 2023 / Ed Paschke Research Grant 2023 / Graduate Research Grant, Northwestern University 2020 / Art Jameel Research and Practice Platform https://layanattari.com/God-s-Name-Inscribed-on-a-Fish Fri, 12 Jan 2024 16:42:24 +0000 Layan Attari https://layanattari.com/God-s-Name-Inscribed-on-a-Fish A sculpture and letter that question, “Can state-ownership of a miracle be considered ownership of truth?” The perceived sign of the word Allah is valued and sought-after. 17 years ago, a fish was found off the coast of Oman by a Pakistani fisherman. Later that same year, a newspaper article revealed it had been taxidermied and was now in the possession of the Dubai Municipality. <img width="1600" height="1200" width_o="1600" height_o="1200" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/19eb1c19723ae50bea0797f3bf0139ef96ba35db2b93218743ce74d2ef758c17/001.jpg" data-mid="201639411" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/19eb1c19723ae50bea0797f3bf0139ef96ba35db2b93218743ce74d2ef758c17/001.jpg" /> <img width="4000" height="2999" width_o="4000" height_o="2999" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fc6c531e578cb543b0d554759f5c821e6ff7b6e35928e5a87dbc2ad2deb658f1/002.jpg" data-mid="201639412" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fc6c531e578cb543b0d554759f5c821e6ff7b6e35928e5a87dbc2ad2deb658f1/002.jpg" /> Taxidermy is a suspended state, perhaps in this case, suggesting an extension of the miraculous. I wondered whether the fish retained any fidelity to the original event of the miracle. When I started my research on this fish in 2019, I discovered that it was on display in the palace of Dubai’s Minister of Finance, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The letter is addressed to the office of Sheikh Hamdan and depicts my encounter with the same fish, at Lake Michigan. Miles and miles away from its location inside the Sheikh’s palace in Dubai. <img width="4000" height="3000" width_o="4000" height_o="3000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0a64b1ff35cce2df79cf67807b4e88aa61ca83c05b14702e31aada92fcd64666/003.jpg" data-mid="201639413" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0a64b1ff35cce2df79cf67807b4e88aa61ca83c05b14702e31aada92fcd64666/003.jpg" /> https://layanattari.com/Expo-Falcon-1 Fri, 12 Jan 2024 16:42:24 +0000 Layan Attari https://layanattari.com/Expo-Falcon-1 During the EXPO Dubai 2020 opening ceremony, the national symbol of the UAE is observed as it transforms from an Arabian falcon to a manmade satellite. Frame by frame screenshots from the ceremony’s livestream provide reflections on the UAE’s progress and vision for the future. <img width="1299" height="732" width_o="1299" height_o="732" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/968d0661d6e6f35ffe070b0cd3acaef97ecc0233f95a0897b89eddda972f7a9f/004.jpg" data-mid="201639459" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/968d0661d6e6f35ffe070b0cd3acaef97ecc0233f95a0897b89eddda972f7a9f/004.jpg" /> <img width="1299" height="732" width_o="1299" height_o="732" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/db8a6599a5f2a0ba23b2c331f654445b45927fe5550fc0bf0ad5f52f7b6523cb/005.jpg" data-mid="201639460" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/db8a6599a5f2a0ba23b2c331f654445b45927fe5550fc0bf0ad5f52f7b6523cb/005.jpg" /><img width="1299" height="732" width_o="1299" height_o="732" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/781f080b93a1d0df62e2f71f351f7f7ae90d835b6da0112901d66fa055b97814/006.jpg" data-mid="201639461" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/781f080b93a1d0df62e2f71f351f7f7ae90d835b6da0112901d66fa055b97814/006.jpg" /><img width="1299" height="732" width_o="1299" height_o="732" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5536a69bf1f5ba1bd0dcc0d8116b10d326158467838dd246dfc9227236efc3d9/007.jpg" data-mid="201639462" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5536a69bf1f5ba1bd0dcc0d8116b10d326158467838dd246dfc9227236efc3d9/007.jpg" /> <img width="3949" height="2688" width_o="3949" height_o="2688" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d6d48042c74aab59dd62445ccca16a59f05cd986851c7a58ef78fd4d18b159a8/008.jpg" data-mid="201639463" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d6d48042c74aab59dd62445ccca16a59f05cd986851c7a58ef78fd4d18b159a8/008.jpg" /> https://layanattari.com/Fidaa-i Fri, 12 Jan 2024 16:42:24 +0000 Layan Attari https://layanattari.com/Fidaa-i <img width="6209" height="4139" width_o="6209" height_o="4139" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ce6329b3ce901ba2c28692d83362ea247fa1c07d438fb8ec9672788ef905ef98/009.jpeg" data-mid="201639741" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ce6329b3ce901ba2c28692d83362ea247fa1c07d438fb8ec9672788ef905ef98/009.jpeg" /> A voice repeats the Arabic word “Fida’i” in an attempt to teach it to two caged birds. Fida’i in Arabic is defined as: (1) my sacrifice, (2) my redemption, (3) my devotion, (4) a Palestinian guerrilla fighter, and (5) The national anthem of Palestine, composed in 1965 by Said Al Muzayin and adopted by the Palestinian Liberation Organization in 1996. <img width="1386" height="1034" width_o="1386" height_o="1034" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e92f2f396fc391285f2059ae2bbab608c389ba639b3f1a150ea3bbce3fe5fa45/009a.png" data-mid="201639742" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e92f2f396fc391285f2059ae2bbab608c389ba639b3f1a150ea3bbce3fe5fa45/009a.png" /> https://layanattari.com/Birds-Disappearing Sat, 21 Sep 2024 00:57:22 +0000 Layan Attari https://layanattari.com/Birds-Disappearing <img width="1557" height="1013" width_o="1557" height_o="1013" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/68c8bba891d549d5096f5ea325164071bb331526e5b39a53777ef6517798de76/022.jpg" data-mid="218420327" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/68c8bba891d549d5096f5ea325164071bb331526e5b39a53777ef6517798de76/022.jpg" /> A series of minimalist abstractions dissecting the iconography of birds of prey on the emblems of Middle Eastern countries. <img width="2721" height="1873" width_o="2721" height_o="1873" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ddd076cac53c93b9cf96b565bd0e8886d7ed7dd9eca8be1f0a4b88f15bde16fc/023.jpg" data-mid="218420331" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ddd076cac53c93b9cf96b565bd0e8886d7ed7dd9eca8be1f0a4b88f15bde16fc/023.jpg" /> <img width="4094" height="4094" width_o="4094" height_o="4094" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bca3d240759de2cb35c736a0806a8dbcb22535042f16a23680b607af2cc80cfe/024.jpg" data-mid="218420398" border="0" data-scale="56" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bca3d240759de2cb35c736a0806a8dbcb22535042f16a23680b607af2cc80cfe/024.jpg" /> <img width="4094" height="4094" width_o="4094" height_o="4094" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e2e8fe0bc048e126a1050f47e7c61083b42660966a47cc57f0f9274a56218130/025.jpg" data-mid="218420399" border="0" data-scale="56" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e2e8fe0bc048e126a1050f47e7c61083b42660966a47cc57f0f9274a56218130/025.jpg" /> <img width="4094" height="4094" width_o="4094" height_o="4094" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1a63975a53c7cfdff6c3959e8588d9eae1642598bfc735eb4a72f151a2321936/026.jpg" data-mid="218420400" border="0" data-scale="42" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1a63975a53c7cfdff6c3959e8588d9eae1642598bfc735eb4a72f151a2321936/026.jpg" /> <img width="4094" height="4094" width_o="4094" height_o="4094" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/85e99e1c668b86fffcb67b8c315d072c3d0152ed73de257186c2d4a6775444f0/027.jpg" data-mid="218420401" border="0" data-scale="42" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/85e99e1c668b86fffcb67b8c315d072c3d0152ed73de257186c2d4a6775444f0/027.jpg" /><img width="4094" height="4094" width_o="4094" height_o="4094" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d7f24bc8940f98d9db27a98651d600e448485a4a872752cdde00e8ba002602f4/028.jpg" data-mid="218420402" border="0" data-scale="42" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d7f24bc8940f98d9db27a98651d600e448485a4a872752cdde00e8ba002602f4/028.jpg" /><img width="4094" height="4094" width_o="4094" height_o="4094" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7b78053d3b0bb05c3c60fd9636f09a1bdb684714f83572c8af6429aa0b553fbb/029.jpg" data-mid="218420403" border="0" data-scale="42" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7b78053d3b0bb05c3c60fd9636f09a1bdb684714f83572c8af6429aa0b553fbb/029.jpg" /> https://layanattari.com/UAE-National-Service-1 Fri, 12 Jan 2024 17:25:42 +0000 Layan Attari https://layanattari.com/UAE-National-Service-1 A photographic series investigating the iconography and&nbsp;use of celebratory cakes as a symbol of military and&nbsp;nationalistic prestige. The photographs serve as a record&nbsp;of anonymous interviews conducted with men who had&nbsp;completed the newly compulsory UAE national service&nbsp;training about their experience and attitudes towards&nbsp;a hyper-miliatirized environment. The cake designs are&nbsp;commonly available in bakeries across the UAE. <img width="10630" height="7087" width_o="10630" height_o="7087" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/26d578f4c07da442ac4f074f62037ccdaa2371bb98e5e321833f09d30bd3d0f0/010.jpg" data-mid="201639767" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/26d578f4c07da442ac4f074f62037ccdaa2371bb98e5e321833f09d30bd3d0f0/010.jpg" /> <img width="10630" height="7087" width_o="10630" height_o="7087" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9ee8bf62d85cec18dacdde0399544f1bba6c07bfe77a943144615e352bad66fa/011.jpg" data-mid="201639768" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9ee8bf62d85cec18dacdde0399544f1bba6c07bfe77a943144615e352bad66fa/011.jpg" /> Compulsory national service is one of several topdown government initiatives in the UAE that, along with public military demonstrations and commemorations of ‘martyrs,’ aim to forge a sense of national belonging. These cakes present a few variations of common patriotic themes—most notably, the flag—but are also indicative of a completely new set of symbols for national pride that&nbsp;epitomized a hegemonic, militarized masculinity. <img width="10630" height="7087" width_o="10630" height_o="7087" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9f2aa3365c6f7b8bb97f7bd719c93e7093f0a669c24e043927cd569735ce5210/012.jpg" data-mid="201639769" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9f2aa3365c6f7b8bb97f7bd719c93e7093f0a669c24e043927cd569735ce5210/012.jpg" /> <img width="1280" height="854" width_o="1280" height_o="854" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2372b41fa7bff8bd90878beccdae94324280763e09ec2d1816df19ec77312255/013.jpg" data-mid="201639770" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2372b41fa7bff8bd90878beccdae94324280763e09ec2d1816df19ec77312255/013.jpg" /> <img width="10630" height="7087" width_o="10630" height_o="7087" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/13c07f64871fd31743741bbd2b3d7027c4f1b030382d432b8d8fc5a7a3979655/014.jpg" data-mid="201639771" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/13c07f64871fd31743741bbd2b3d7027c4f1b030382d432b8d8fc5a7a3979655/014.jpg" /> <img width="1177" height="709" width_o="1177" height_o="709" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7a6ebc6beefc60acf6e7a3cee7afa2089593d304af56e84225f756a22986accf/National01.png" data-mid="201639787" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7a6ebc6beefc60acf6e7a3cee7afa2089593d304af56e84225f756a22986accf/National01.png" /> https://layanattari.com/Dubai-Fountain-1 Fri, 12 Jan 2024 18:01:24 +0000 Layan Attari https://layanattari.com/Dubai-Fountain-1 The Dubai Fountain lies atop an artificial body of&nbsp;water in the center of Emaar Properties’ Downtown&nbsp;Dubai development. Every day, hundreds of people&nbsp;gather to observe and contemplate the fountain’s&nbsp;choreographed song and dance sequences. At the&nbsp;time, considered the largest in the world, the fountain&nbsp;design, playlists, and choreography are developed&nbsp;by the California-based WET design, who are also&nbsp;responsible for the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel&nbsp;Lake in Las Vegas. After a lengthy process of emails to several government-affiliated and private entities in Dubai, I was able to gain permission to have Emaar play a silent rendition of the Dubai Fountain’s choreography. For the first time ever, at 13:15 Gulf Standard Time on the 22nd of July 2019, the fountain danced to Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You and Umm Kalthoum’s Enta Omri, silently. <img width="2162" height="300" width_o="2162" height_o="300" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/536d54f5487f00ae32da2805046046767115839a8c66de4366ee72e47d45e4a9/016.png" data-mid="201640009" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/536d54f5487f00ae32da2805046046767115839a8c66de4366ee72e47d45e4a9/016.png" /> <img width="5568" height="3712" width_o="5568" height_o="3712" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3eba53503ea82de9741699bf6835746cd023a2ee070d6bd7e35e4bedad4c6aed/015.jpg" data-mid="201640008" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3eba53503ea82de9741699bf6835746cd023a2ee070d6bd7e35e4bedad4c6aed/015.jpg" /> Audio of the Dubai Mall Fountain water jets (with no music) plays from a speaker set inside a manmade seashell. The UAE is a coastal country with a desert landscape that blends into the Empty Quarter. Over the past 20 years, Dubai has expanded into the ocean with projects like the Palm Islands and The World. The coastline is scattered with consumerist projects such as The Walk at JBR and La Mer by Meeras. <img width="6240" height="4160" width_o="6240" height_o="4160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4521b5c0504a669d75dff7e008b18af98312edab0d954955a4ef4429b3b05b1d/017.jpg" data-mid="219087946" border="0" data-scale="48" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4521b5c0504a669d75dff7e008b18af98312edab0d954955a4ef4429b3b05b1d/017.jpg" /> https://layanattari.com/Mild-Life-1 Fri, 12 Jan 2024 19:30:27 +0000 Layan Attari https://layanattari.com/Mild-Life-1 A photographic series aiming to capture the&nbsp;juxtaposition of “fake” nature in urban environments&nbsp;as a method of recalling nature that was displaced to&nbsp;make way for urbanization. The series is an attempt&nbsp;to understand why humankind seeks freedom from the&nbsp;restraints of the natural world in favor of superiority&nbsp;and artifice. <img width="2182" height="1454" width_o="2182" height_o="1454" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/381c39dc6d6a01fdfa213b16a43a613fd68479667be7327cab9c130105790730/017.png" data-mid="201639793" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/381c39dc6d6a01fdfa213b16a43a613fd68479667be7327cab9c130105790730/017.png" /> <img width="2178" height="1448" width_o="2178" height_o="1448" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5a8337b67344a620057f8b7683b5bae6d93f93c21748680e1bb9ce029f5aedeb/019.png" data-mid="201639795" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5a8337b67344a620057f8b7683b5bae6d93f93c21748680e1bb9ce029f5aedeb/019.png" /> <img width="2190" height="1460" width_o="2190" height_o="1460" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/72d32674738a8de4df4175db2e08cd958c671f0a5b83a80e474eef245c67fce8/018.png" data-mid="201639794" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/72d32674738a8de4df4175db2e08cd958c671f0a5b83a80e474eef245c67fce8/018.png" /> <img width="5568" height="3712" width_o="5568" height_o="3712" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b02e3b80f04929811c99fe8e9336a1f52055ad325a834ec22e1edecf2945520a/021.jpg" data-mid="201639872" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b02e3b80f04929811c99fe8e9336a1f52055ad325a834ec22e1edecf2945520a/021.jpg" /> https://layanattari.com/About Fri, 12 Jan 2024 16:42:25 +0000 Layan Attari https://layanattari.com/About &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; : (b. Kuwait) is a Palestinian visual artist