One of the world’s most wacky art collectives is coming to Dubai.
Hungry Castle, a Barcelona- based collaborative art platform dedicated to creating eccentric, large-scale public art, has teamed up with Simon Coates, a Dubai-based artist and former manager of Dubai Community Theatre & Arts Centre to bring projects to the UAE.
Original Hungry Castle members Dave Glass and Killian Cooper were behind such pieces as Lionel Richie’s Head, which appeared at the British music festival Bestival in 2013.
The installation was a three-metre, inflatable, hollow sculpture of the American singer’s head. People queued to get inside and once there, a phone on the wall rang to greet audiences with Richie’s most famous song lyric: “Hello, is it me you’re looking for?”
They are working on a similar inflatable project called Nicolas Cage in a Cage, which will be launched at the Splendour In the Grass music festival in Australia next month.
Coates, who has an interest in sound art, and was instrumental in bringing British Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller’s artwork to Dubai last year, contacted Hungry Castle when he heard about its projects and met up with the members when they passed through Dubai on their way back to their studios in Barcelona.
When he left Ductac in May, he offered to open a Hungry Castle Middle East office in Dubai, which is now up and running.
Although there are no specific details about upcoming UAE projects, Coates says that this part of the world is ready for the Hungry Castle style of art. Its public artworks are funded by the Hungry Castle fashion brand, which is popular in Europe and the United States and is planning to launch in the Middle East.
“I think this part of the world is ripe for this kind of freely accessible artwork,” he says. “Dubai is always open to new ways of celebrating and it feels right that we make moves out here.
“Although the work is kind of goofy, it’s art, first and foremost. I think that there are still a lot of conversations to be had as to what constitutes art here, and one of the intentions behind these pieces is to expand on those discussions.”
Another well-known Hungry Castle project is Laser Cat – a huge cat’s head whose eyes beam artworks on to the sides of buildings and structures. It debuted in Barcelona, then moved to Brooklyn, New York, and has just come back from the Les Folies arts festival in France.
Coates says he plans to bring Laser Cat and other projects to the UAE but is also open to commissions and collaborations.
The subject of public art in the UAE is one that is constantly discussed and is seen as a challenge because it can be difficult to get permissions.
Coates says he plans to overcome this by not only targeting art events but also music festivals.
“The remit is quite wide and, even though we’re only just opening the office, everyone I’ve spoken to so far is bowled over by what they see,” he says. “I think the originality factor is going to help to open doors.”
Also, each project will rely heavily on public engagement.
“Art doesn’t have to be on a gallery wall, it can exist anywhere and anyone can have their say and get involved,” says Coates.
“These pieces are less tangible as commercial commodities, so there’s also a great opportunity to show people that ambitious artworks don’t have to be put up for sale to exist in their own right.
“It’s worth noting, too, that every time we set up a piece we actively rely on the general public to get involved.
“This isn’t just in terms of interaction – we actually work with local volunteers who become Hungry Castle team members for the duration of the work, and these people help make the whole thing happen.”
• Visit www.hungrycastle.com
aseaman@thenational.ae