Art beyond boundaries: Zayed University students reflect on movement, memory and light at World Art Dubai 2025

Gulf News

19-04-2025

Three young Emirati women explore personal and cultural narratives through art.
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Dubai: At World Art Dubai 2025, the spirit of discovery is alive in every brushstroke, shadow, and beam of light. Among the diverse global voices taking center-stage this year are three rising Emirati artists from Zayed University—each offering a deeply personal lens into themes of identity, intuition, memory, and cultural storytelling.
In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, we speak with Shamsa Al Ashram Al Falasi, Reem Jaber Al Khoori, and Reem Alraeesi, who share the inspirations behind their showcased works—ranging from intuitive abstraction and childhood memory to architectural storytelling. Through photography, painting, and laser-cut design, these young creatives are not only shaping the future of Emirati art but also inviting us into their worlds, one detail at a time.
Shamsa Al Ashram Al Falasi is a multidisciplinary artist based in Dubai. Her work moves between the intuitive and the intentional, using acrylic and technical pens to explore the language of movement, stillness, and unbecoming. Rooted in practices of introspection and embodied dance, Al Falasi's art becomes a kind of translation—where gesture becomes form, and form becomes a bridge between the physical and the spiritual.
Q: What inspired the work you're showcasing at World Art Dubai this year?
A: 'Sol' reflects a personal journey expressed through intuitive dance. In this movement, I embrace playfulness and spontaneity, allowing myself to explore freely. I began to wonder—what would it feel like to be the sun? How would I move? Guided by those questions, I channeled that energy into the piece, grounding each gesture with intentional strokes of black acrylic—translating motion into mark-making on paper.
'Source Code' is inspired by the structure of circuits and the language of code. I express this concept through asemic writing—marks that suggest meaning without relying on conventional language. I don't fully understand the drawing in a literal sense, but I can feel it—like a circuit pulsing with information, transmitting something just beyond words.
Q: How does your art reflect your journey as an artist or your connection to the UAE?
A: My art reflects my authenticity—an act of seeing through my own eyes and stepping into the unknown. I create intuitively, allowing each piece to unfold as it will, and in doing so, I come to know myself more deeply. The process is sacred and spiritual, a space where I feel like a vessel for something greater moving through me. It's not about reaching a specific outcome, but about the journey itself. That's where the pleasure lies—in the in-between, where I feel both lost and found.
Q: What themes or messages do you hope visitors take away from your pieces?
A: This piece encourages you to look twice—what you notice at first might shift the second time around. It's about the subtle things that reveal themselves when you're truly present. At its core, the work explores a return to source—a quiet state of pure consciousness. It's an experience of peeling back the layers and sensing what exists beyond thought, beyond form.
Q. Can you walk us through your creative process—from blank canvas to finished piece?
A: My creative process is full of chaotic energy—that's how I like it. It often begins with the right playlist and a cup of coffee. Before I start, I move my body to music to get into the flow. I prefer to work on the floor, sitting close to the ground—it helps me feel more connected, more present.
I rarely plan what I'm going to create. I just grab my paint and let the first stroke land wherever it wants to. From there, I follow the movement, surprising myself as I go. I don't like to force anything. If the canvas feels like it needs space, I step back. I observe, or let my attention drift and just exist for a while. Then I return—each time seeing something new.
Sometimes I know when a piece is finished. Other times, it feels like it can never really be finished—only left, just as it is.
Reem Jaber Mohammad Al Khoori, 22, is an emerging Emirati artist based in Dubai. She is currently a senior at Zayed University, majoring in Visual Arts at the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises. Since childhood, Al Khoori has used art as a way to express her emotions. Her artistic journey began in third grade when she started taking after-school art classes—an experience that inspired her to pursue a career as an artist.
Her work often explores themes of identity, memory, and childhood. Al Khoori is particularly drawn to film photography, digital photography, and printmaking. Her current goal is to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts and pursue a career in photography.
Al Khoori's lifetime goal is to inspire people through her artwork—especially through the lens of photography.
Q: What inspired the work you're showcasing at World Art Dubai this year?
A: The inspiration behind 'My Second Home' comes from my grandparents' house and the concept of the everyday. This black-and-white photography series explores memory and personal history through familiar objects. I focused on shadows and reflections to evoke emotion and meaning. The photo on display was taken in my mother's room at my grandparents' house—a space full of warmth and comfort. Just looking at the chair brings back flashbacks of good memories.
Q: How does your art reflect your journey as an artist or your connection to the UAE?
A: Childhood, memory, and emotion are recurring themes in my work. As an artist, I'm deeply influenced by my surroundings and personal experiences. These elements ground my practice and help me connect to my roots here in the UAE.
Q: What themes or messages do you hope visitors take away from your pieces?
A: I want my art to tell a story—something that's visually engaging but also emotionally resonant. I hope viewers feel a sense of connection, even if their memories are different. Art has always given me a voice and a way to express my emotions creatively. I hope to inspire others to do the same.
Q: Can you walk us through your creative process—from blank canvas to finished piece?
A: My process begins with research. Once I settle on a theme, I choose a medium and look for reference images that inspire the composition. I create a mock-up to visualize the final outcome. From there, I begin creating the actual work—making sure each piece is meaningful to me and, hopefully, inspiring to others.
Q: Are there any materials or tools you've recently discovered that have changed the way you work?
A: In 2023, I rediscovered film photography and learned how to develop film in the darkroom. It quickly became a passion of mine. I've loved photography since childhood, but this analog process reignited my excitement and inspired me to create hybrid series combining film and digital. I also discovered printmaking that same year—specifically drypoint printing—and it's become another technique I really enjoy exploring.
Reem Alraeesi, 18, is pursuing Bachelor of Architecture Zayed University, currently in the first year. She is passionate about exploring light, materiality, and cultural motifs through architectural storytelling.
Q: What inspired the work you're showcasing at World Art Dubai this year?
A: My piece, Light of the Dawn, is inspired by the soft, atmospheric quality of natural light as it filters through mountainous landscapes. I was drawn to the poetic interplay between light, shadow, and form, and how this can be expressed architecturally using transparent materials, gold accents, and cultural motifs.
Q: How does your art reflect your journey as an artist or your connection to the UAE?
A: As an Emirati architecture student, I'm deeply connected to both tradition and innovation. My work reflects this duality—merging digital precision and fabrication techniques with ornamentation and symbolic storytelling rooted in culture. It represents my journey of learning to express identity through design.
Q: What themes or messages do you hope visitors take away from your pieces?
A: I hope viewers feel a sense of serenity and curiosity—drawn into the balance between structure and softness, light and material. Light of the Dawn explores how architecture can become a vessel for cultural narrative, emotion, and connection, even on a miniature scale.
Q: Can you walk us through your creative process — from blank canvas to finished piece?
A: The process began with sketching a mountain chalet elevation and experimenting with how light could interact with it. I used Rhino for digital modeling, designed interlocking elements inspired by cloud forms, and laser-cut acrylic with gold detailing. The assembly process became tactile and precise—mirroring how concept and craft come together in architecture. I would like to thank my professor, Nahed Chakouf, for believing in my creative ideas and encouraging me to continue exploring them. Her support gave me the confidence to express myself freely through this work.
Q: Are there any materials or tools you've recently discovered that have changed the way you work?
A: Laser cutting and transparent acrylics opened up new possibilities for me—allowing me to explore light behavior and layering in a way that drawing alone couldn't. These tools helped me bridge digital design and physical expression with greater sensitivity and precision.