From a distance, Athier Mousawi’s paintings could be seen simply as a visual treat of abstract form and colour, which attract a viewer simply because of the activity on the canvas. But they go much deeper than that.
The bright palette he chooses belies the serious questioning going on within the many layers of his work. Mousawi is Iraqi and his family left the country before the start of the first Gulf War in the 1980s.
Although he has never experienced war first-hand, he is deeply concerned with it – notably the consciousness that leads to one human killing another, whatever the reasons used to justify it.
This was the focus of his 2014 show in London, Man of War, in which he deconstructed jellyfish in his semi-abstract paintings.
For his latest series, Machine Hearts, which is on display at Ayyam Gallery in Alserkal Avenue, he takes the idea one step further and tries to depict the mechanised or robotic heart that he imagines one must have to kill others.
The title of the show actually comes from The Great Dictator, the 1940 Charlie Chaplin film, in which the actor condemned Nazi Germany. Chaplin says in the film: "Machine men with machine minds and machine hearts. You are not machines. You are not cattle. You are men."
Mousawi took that metaphor and in this body of work tried to visualise what a machine heart would look like.
“Each one starts with a core and then I added elements that a heart might have, such as pockets for the chambers and tubes, wires and electrical cable representing blood vessels, veins or arteries,” he says.
He also placed a lot of emphasis on the three-dimensional aspect of the pieces. There are several areas where looped wires spiral back into the canvas or triangular shapes seem to jut out of it.
In several cases within this exhibition, the artist continues his shapes on the gallery walls, underlining the effect – he worked hard to master this during his Beirut Art Residency last year.
What I love about his work is that you can spend a long time with each one.
They are awash with visual references from across the centuries – Mesopotamian wall reliefs, religious symbols, emergency police tape, wires and blood vessels – and there are also several figures woven between the shapes and forms.
Machine Hearts also features a return to drawing for the artist, the son of a renowned architect, who graduated in illustration from the Central Saint Martins in London. The works on paper and in black and white are like a blueprint to the larger canvases and give an interesting dimension to an already fascinating show.
• Machine Hearts runs until May 21, Ayyam Gallery, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai. www.ayyamgallery.com
aseaman@thenational.ae
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine 2.4L four-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.4L/100km
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Company%20Profile
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Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Nancy 9 (Hassa Beek)
Nancy Ajram
(In2Musica)
It's Monty Python's Crashing Rocket Circus
To the theme tune of the famous zany British comedy TV show, SpaceX has shown exactly what can go wrong when you try to land a rocket.
The two minute video posted on YouTube is a compilation of crashes and explosion as the company, created by billionaire Elon Musk, refined the technique of reusable space flight.
SpaceX is able to land its rockets on land once they have completed the first stage of their mission, and is able to resuse them multiple times - a first for space flight.
But as the video, How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster, demonstrates, it was a case if you fail, try and try again.
Inside%20Out%202
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EKelsey%20Mann%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Amy%20Poehler%2C%20Maya%20Hawke%2C%20Ayo%20Edebiri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now