Meem Gallery is pleased to announce the solo exhibition of Sheikha Wafa bint Hasher al Maktoum; entitled, Seamless Loop. This exhibition marks the artist’s second solo show in the Emirates; the first taking place at Bonhams Dubai in 2011. The artist has exhibited widely throughout the Middle East in group shows, prestigious prizes and through specialist commissions.
Seamless Loop explores themes of iconography, heritage and tradition. The 16-work strong exhibition is comprised of 8 textile pieces, and 8 screen prints. Sheikha Wafa bint Hasher al Makotum’s point of departure was to consider symbols she found endemic of the UAE, icons that symbolized the country. Selecting images of the falcon, the camel, the horse, the gazelle, the fish, the leopard, the fort and the palm, Sheikha Wafa bint Hasher al Maktoum began experimenting with sketches and collages, playing with colour and texture. She began to work with the original images and reduce them to their most simple form, after which she began manipulating the symbols digitally, creating an almost kaleidoscopic design; conjuring thoughts of Islamic geometry.
Taking these designs, Sheikha Wafa bint Hasher Al Maktoum began to experiment with different media. Selecting screen print and textile based works for this project, her reasoning behind utilizing these mediums was the creative process as much as the overall aesthetic quality.
Both techiques are physically demanding in order to create, the physicality of making a silkscreen, or the long hours sitting on the floor of the embroidery rooms. This sense of process is most important and attractive to Sheikha Wafa bint Hasher al Maktoum, the final piece acting as a monument to the time and process of art-making.
