‘Short Circuits’ is Vikram Divecha’s first survey exhibition, retracing the Dubai-based artist’s practice since 2013.
Developing long-term collaborations with workers, contractors and decision-makers, Vikram Divecha takes an interest in the otherwise invisible structures of planning, construction, demolition and maintenance that shape the cities of the United Arab Emirates and beyond.
His works, playful and poetic, rely on what he calls “found processes” in which the artist inserts himself, observing how individuals navigate, experiment with and bypass these systems.
Working with the materials, space and labour available to him, Divecha’s projects manifest as site-specific works, public art, installations, videos, photography and drawings.
Curated by Art Jameel’s Dawn Ross, Head of Collections, and Lucas Morin, Curator, the exhibition gathers works from the Art Jameel Collection, local and international loans, and new commissions.
About the Artists
Vikram Divecha is a Beirut-born artist who grew up in Mumbai and is based in the UAE. He holds an MFA in Visual Art from Columbia University and was a participant in the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study program. His work has been exhibited regionally and internationally at the 57th Venice Biennale’s UAE National Pavilion UAE, the 13th Sharjah Biennial, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Centre of Contemporary Art (Warsaw) and The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts (New York). He currently teaches as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Art and Art History at the New York University Abu Dhabi.
Robert T. Kilroy is an art historian and lecturer specializing in the intersection of art, psychoanalysis, and contemporary subjectivity. He has taught at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and currently lectures at Limerick School of Art and Design in Ireland. A former Curator for Modern & Contemporary Art at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Kilroy holds a PhD from Trinity College Dublin and is the author of Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain: One Hundred Years Later. His research and writings explore themes such as technology’s impact on art, globalism, and the materiality of images, with contributions in multiple languages. In his contribution to Short-Circuits, Robert brings these ideas to bear on the work of Vikram Divecha.
About Jameel Arts Centre
Jameel Arts Centre is an independent institution dedicated to exhibiting contemporary art to the public and engaging communities through learning, research and commissions. Founded and supported by Art Jameel, the Centre is located in Jaddaf Waterfront, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
About Art Jameel
Art Jameel is an organisation that supports artists and creative communities. Current initiatives include running heritage institutes and restoration programmes, plus a broad range of arts and educational initiatives for all ages. The organisation’s programmes foster the role of the arts in building open, connected communities; at a time of flux and dramatic societal shifts, this role is understood as more crucial than ever.
