The publication features texts by Murtaza Vali as well as rare archival and photographic material looking at the history of crude: oil as an archive, infrastructure and technology. Vali reflects on the works in the exhibition as well as the specific technologies and immaterialities that oil has enabled on a sociological, cultural and environmental level in the region—narrating an alternate material history of modernity in the region.
Artists included: Latif Al Ani, Manal AlDowayan, Alessandro Balteo-Yazbeck, Media Farzin, GCC (Khalid Al Gharaballi, Nanu Al-Hamad, Abdullah Al-Mutairi, Fatima Al Qadiri, Aziz Al Qatimi, Barrak Alzaid, Amal Khalaf), Raja’a Khalid, Lydia Ourahmane, Houshang Pezeshknia, Monira Al Qadiri, Hassan Sharif, Wael Shawky, Nasrin Tabatabai and Babak Afrassiabi, Rayyane Tabet, Hajra Waheed, Michael John Whelan, Lantian Xie and Ala Younis.
About the Exhibition
Bringing together 17 artists and collectives from the region and beyond, ‘Crude‘ explores oil as an agent of social, cultural and economic transformation across the Middle East and North Africa, as well as a driver of geo-political upheaval. This exhibition features the works of contemporary artists that engage with the oil industry’s murky archives and histories, narrating an alternate and episodic material history of modernity in the region.
About the Contributor
Winner of the winter 2010 Lori Ledis Curatorial Fellowship, Murtaza Vali is a Contributing Editor at ArtAsiaPacific and writes for ArtReview, Art India and Bidoun. Vali has also penned monographic essays on artists such as Bani Abidi, Siah Armajani, Emily Jacir and Reena Saini Kallat.
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.
