I'm inspired by Emirati women artists: UAE National Day show's artistic director

Abu Dhabi - Es Devlin reminisced how she presented the show’s initial concept many months ago.

Spotlight will be on Emirati female artists during the Seeds of the Union show to be staged in Abu Dhabi on December 2 as part of the 49th UAE National Day Celebrations, said the show’s artistic director.

Es Devlin also added that the UAE remains one of the few countries to put together a live show of such magnitude in these testing times.

An artist known for creating large-scale performative sculptures and environments that fuse music, language and light, Devlin has created a digitally-illuminated sculpture surrounded by the sea as part of the show.

A first-hand view of mangrove trees in Abu Dhabi was one of the inspirations behind the sculpture. “We used mangroves as a metaphor to narrate the story of the UAE, from the sowing of the seed to its flowering and further spreading and growing,” she said.

With nature being the protagonist of the show, Devlin toured the emirates. “From Al Ain Oasis to Jabal Hafeet, I saw it all, and interacted with such great artistic minds during the many car rides we took together. As an outsider, I knew we had to highlight the diversity in landscapes of the UAE.

“The sculpture would be a testament to the values and traditions of the UAE with a tribute to the unity, which has been a contributing factor towards fighting the challenges during the pandemic,” she added.

The production will be livestreamed for audience acrossthe globe.

Behind the scenes

Devlin reminisced how she presented the show’s initial draft/concept many months ago. “I was in the UK on a Zoom call with the UAE committee members and was met up with silence at the end of the presentation. ‘I was asked, ‘So, what’s the wow factor here?’”

Within the next 24 hours, she and her team added artistic fuel to what the committee members agreed upon was already an original incredible idea to start with. “The foremost challenge was to find out a way to express the joy, gratitude and unity of the land and its people in these extraordinary times,” she said on Monday.

After months of Zoom sessions from her South London home, when Devlin landed in the UAE, she said it was three elements that had her in awe — the diversity of the land, the young thinkers/researchers, and the work of the women artists, in particular, the Emirati artists. “In my years of work, I’d thought that it’s the ‘old’ who are treasure troves of information, but it was here I interacted with the youth and was left impressed,” she said.

Es Devlin is the mastermind show designer behind the closing ceremony for the London 2012 Summer Olympics, the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics and the UK Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

purva@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi