Asma Belhamar’s solo exhibition, Solid Void, is the result of the 421 Artistic Development Program. Featuring new works inspired by the UAE’s architectural history, the exhibition captures the tensions between shifting natural geographies and dynamic urban environments. The work is footnoted by the artist’s reflections on a culture and national identity in flux.
Solid Void narrates the topographic evolution of the UAE, as influenced by Western classical modernity, contemporary traditionalism in Islam, and the historic trade relationships that shaped much of that landscape. The artist’s deft interpretation reveals the diversity and fragmentation of the design sensibilities that have made the nation’s aesthetic identity what it is today.
Solid Void is the result of the 2023 edition of the Artistic Development Program, which is organized in collaboration with The Institute for Emerging Art.
Press release from 421
Image: Asma Belhamar. Installation view of Solid Void at 421, Abu Dhabi, 2023. Image courtesy of 421
