witsandnuts

(Inside the infinity mirrored room. Concept from three artists – Song Dong, Bharti Kher, Yayoi Kusama.)

Since our tummies were well-fed during the holidays, the next best thing to do post-new year’s eve is to satisfy our mental (and artistic, yeah!) craving. Persistent on burning the calories from the sumptuous sticky rice and other happy food, we did an enjoyable walk to the museum yesterday. We seized the opportunity to visit the “Seeing through light” exhibit in Manarat Al Saadiyat which aims to showcase the selections from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi collection.

 (I wish to visit again before this showcase ends on 19 January 2015. It is delightful re-live the experience of dreamlike walk — imagine the  moonlight on water and magic cosmos. Like a combo of scenes from Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and other great films and as well as the Prom night scenes. Hahaha. Be careful though not to step on the water.)

While I am not technically an artist, I enjoyed the theme-based presentations that examined light as a primary aesthetic principle in art. I may not have fully understood in theory the differences among perceptual, reflected, transcendent, activated and celestial lights. But based on what I experienced, I had much fun ‘seeing in person’ the celestial lights.

The other highlight of this visit is getting up close and shocked by the Mona Lisa with mustache! The statue greets everyone by the entrance. The mustache there is not accidental at all. To quote the information, this three-dimensional figure involves six centuries of art history from Leonardo Da Vinci to Marcel Duchamp to Subodh Gupta.

These are the other things/concepts that I found interesting apart from being visually appealing.

This is called ‘6 Chains: Permutation’ by Angela Bulloch. I am so ignoramus that I instantly associated it with Rubik’s cube, however, arranged in a more conceptual way. I wish that I took a video to share with you how the colors changed in several sequences i.e. a total of 52 sequences as claimed by the exhibit’s leaflet.

Beautiful piece of art using a broken frame. (By Bharti Kher)

‘The Words I love the Most’ by Ghada Amer. These are arabic letters formed using black-patinated bronze. The shadow it created is also thought-provoking.

This is ‘Endless Prayers’ by Y.Z. Kami. A labor of love. Printed papers were cut and pasted on canvas. See the next photo and video for the amazing and intricate details.

And of course, I love bicycles! (By Ai Weiwei)

Souvenirs

Fun art on the way to the restaurant. Imagination activated.

Construction in progress. More gems in store.

As you enter and exit, it is impossible not to notice the Mona Lisa with mustache. Emphasis on the way she stares, huh.

Seeing through Light runs until 19 January 2015 at Manarat Al Saadiyat (that means ‘Place of Enlightenment’), at Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE. It is open daily from 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM. Entry is free of charge.

Landline: +971 2 657 5800, email: manaratalsaadiyat@tcaabudhabi.ae, website: http://www.saadiyatculturaldistrict.ae

All photos were taken using a mobile phone.