Oh my, so I guess you can say I have been *missing* for a while! But alas no more, I am back and bursting with many posts to come. This past month or two I've just been on wedding mode, last week was one of my closest cousin's wedding, it was one crazy day after another, but everything came out so beautiful at the end - will be posting about it soon with more details.
Ok.. no more blabbering from me, here are the pictures of Art AbuDhabi I had promised last time (I took horrible blurry pictures so here are some shots taken from the website. One of the highlights of the fair was the 'Design Workshop' built on the beach, this was a place where comtemporary designers presented day-long workshops. The public would be able to interact with cutting-edge designers and experience their live work in specially constructed performace studios and interactive workshops.
You see that large clock on the left side, there was an actual living human being inside the black container who would constantly change the time.. seriously! He would paint in or scrape off the paint from the clock facade to create the time, by minute! I loved it.
Ahmad Angawi {Saudi Arabia}: An Industrial Designer who blends Arabian tradition with modern international design. I especially loved the idea of his 3-day roadtrip to AbuDhabi, driving his grandfather's van all the way from his home country Saudi Arabia to the AbuDhabi art fair, using it as a movable workspace to get inspired from the different cultures and countries he embraces along the way.
Of his projects showcased in the design workshop, was the Glocal Chair. Ahmad fused two objects that are typically traditional pieces from two different cultural backgrounds (a Western Captain Wooden Chair and a Middle Eastern Ottoman) to create a Glocal Chair.
The other more simple yet equally interesting concept is the Tea {Chai} or Coffee {Gahwa}, both of which play a big part of the Middle East culture. Here, he fused the cups that we traditionally use to drink tea or coffee with together into one.
Reem Al Ghaith {UAE}: One of the other designers was my friend and colleague Reem Al Ghaith, who created chairs inspired by traditional designs found on doors and entrances in old Dubai (excuse my lousy shot). I really admired how she used different materials and textures to create a metallic frame for a chair with a printed cushion of the different elements she collages from the doors.
From this, she also went on to create art pieces of which are showcased on the 67th floor of Burj Dubai, titled 'Beyoutna' meaning 'Our Houses' in Arabic.
Huda Baroudi and Maria Hibri {Lebanon}: These 2 talented women are partners in the interior design studio, Bokja Design. You might have seen their stuff popping around the blogs, I dream of owning one of their colorful and eccentric sofas. They presented a unique sofa assembled from a composite of around 40 distinct fabrics from different parts of the world. Oh, to own a couture Bokja chair, I'll add it to my never-ending list of needs!
Ok.. no more blabbering from me, here are the pictures of Art AbuDhabi I had promised last time (I took horrible blurry pictures so here are some shots taken from the website. One of the highlights of the fair was the 'Design Workshop' built on the beach, this was a place where comtemporary designers presented day-long workshops. The public would be able to interact with cutting-edge designers and experience their live work in specially constructed performace studios and interactive workshops.
You see that large clock on the left side, there was an actual living human being inside the black container who would constantly change the time.. seriously! He would paint in or scrape off the paint from the clock facade to create the time, by minute! I loved it.
Ahmad Angawi {Saudi Arabia}: An Industrial Designer who blends Arabian tradition with modern international design. I especially loved the idea of his 3-day roadtrip to AbuDhabi, driving his grandfather's van all the way from his home country Saudi Arabia to the AbuDhabi art fair, using it as a movable workspace to get inspired from the different cultures and countries he embraces along the way.
Of his projects showcased in the design workshop, was the Glocal Chair. Ahmad fused two objects that are typically traditional pieces from two different cultural backgrounds (a Western Captain Wooden Chair and a Middle Eastern Ottoman) to create a Glocal Chair.
The other more simple yet equally interesting concept is the Tea {Chai} or Coffee {Gahwa}, both of which play a big part of the Middle East culture. Here, he fused the cups that we traditionally use to drink tea or coffee with together into one.
Reem Al Ghaith {UAE}: One of the other designers was my friend and colleague Reem Al Ghaith, who created chairs inspired by traditional designs found on doors and entrances in old Dubai (excuse my lousy shot). I really admired how she used different materials and textures to create a metallic frame for a chair with a printed cushion of the different elements she collages from the doors.
From this, she also went on to create art pieces of which are showcased on the 67th floor of Burj Dubai, titled 'Beyoutna' meaning 'Our Houses' in Arabic.
Huda Baroudi and Maria Hibri {Lebanon}: These 2 talented women are partners in the interior design studio, Bokja Design. You might have seen their stuff popping around the blogs, I dream of owning one of their colorful and eccentric sofas. They presented a unique sofa assembled from a composite of around 40 distinct fabrics from different parts of the world. Oh, to own a couture Bokja chair, I'll add it to my never-ending list of needs!
