EFFLORESCENCE AT SHARJAH BIENNIAL 15 (2023)

Sharjah Biennial was a wide-ranging exhibition spread across multiple sites. Conceived by the late Okwui Enwezor and curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, SB15 included work by numerous artists who addressed its theme “Thinking Historically in the Present” with very diverse works, but which all drew their inspiration from decolonial and Global South perspectives.

The Efflorescence series found its place in a long section of the gently curving arcade of the Old Al Jubail Vegetable Market, which is no longer in commercial use. Multiple light reflections from the work in the plate glass facades of the dilapidated shops, with abandoned shop signage still in-situ, evoked an aura of personal and commercial activity from several decades ago, of life and labor both seen and invisible.

The large-scale sculptural reproductions of the national flowers of contested regions draw attention to the irony of using flora of widespread geographic origin as signifiers of contested national belonging.

The title of the series holds a double meaning, evoking both the grace of flowers in bloom and processes of decay and discoloration. Inspired by popular commercial signage, the works jump scale in their materiality and dimension: their industrial artifice acknowledges the manner in which delicate natural forms are deployed as fixed emblems to vindicate intangible claims of identity.

Efflorescence series

Neon, bulbs, aluminum, mixed media, each 48 x 48 x 6 inch

Installation at Old Al Jubail Vegetable Market

Bosanki Ljiljan – golden lily [Bosnia]

Cocoxochitl - dahlia [Mexico]

Karkadé - hibiscus [Sudan]

Laleh - tulip [Afghanistan]

Mokran - magnolia [North Korea]

Padma - lotus [India]

Shapla - water lily [Bangladesh]

Shaqa'iq an-numan - poppy [Palestine]

Zahrat al-ughuwan – daisy [Eritrea]