Weekly UAE museum and gallery guide: From art inspired by Emirati heritage to one created from chicken wings

The National

27-02-2025

This week's round-up of exhibitions is filled with artworks crafted from unexpected objects. From a satirical reflection of the fast-paced lifestyle in a contemporary city to a porcelain tribute to a work by the 13th century poet Rumi, here are three exhibitions to see this week. Lantian Xie is an artist who has a penchant for producing artworks that use unconventional materials to reflect upon experiences in a contemporary city. His newest exhibition at Grey Noise can be seen as a critique of the daily bustle in a fast-paced city, whether it's the anxiety of manoeuvring traffic, stopping at a gas station for food and fuel, or even taking on the city by foot. The exhibition features a panoply of objects that aren't traditionally used to create art: from chicken wings to a shirt and shorts. The centrepiece of the exhibition is a video that draws from Mass Traffic, a book that Xie wrote with Sabih Ahmed, featuring sequences of texts that reflect upon the speed of daily life in contemporary urban environments. Tuesday to Saturday, 11am-7pm; until March 29; Grey Noise, Dubai Melis Buyruk's exhibition at Leila Heller Gallery draws inspiration from the story of the four birds that is found in the fifth book of Rumi's Masnavi. Each of the birds in the story represents a facet of the human condition, including desire, fear, attachment and the yearning for freedom. Buyruk uses porcelain to materialise these concepts. Among the works is a series four oval frames that feature floral designs rendered that embody the qualities represented by the birds. Monday to Friday, 10am-7pm; Saturday, 11am – 7pm; until March 9; Leila Heller Gallery, Dubai Reflections and Inspiration from Emirati Heritage came about as a collaboration between Sharjah Heritage Museum and University of Sharjah's College of Fine Arts and Design. The exhibition opened in November 2023 and, after more than a year of being on show, it will soon draw to a close. Students from the college reflect upon elements in UAE heritage designs and across dozens of unique works to bring a refreshed look to these traditional motifs. Patterns found in traditional handicrafts like Sadu and Talli are rendered with vibrant paintings and sculptures. There are also works that reimagine the heritage elements in modern fashion designs. Saturday to Thursday, 8am-8pm; Friday, 4pm – 8pm; until April 15; Sharjah Heritage Museum, Sharjah