Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi and Plaited Time / Deep Water in Sharjah Art Foundation

Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi wrote about the exhibition that is currently being held in the beautiful and pristine Al Mureijah Square in Sharjah.

IranArt : Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, director of the Sharjah Art Foundation, has published a text in the exhibition catalog about Lubaina Himid and Magda Stawarska's exhibition entitled "Plaited Time / Deep Water", which is currently being held. The text of Hoor Al Qasimi is presented to you further.

Full text of Hoor Al Qasimi:

"As with many of the artists with whom we work, Sharjah Art Foundation's engagement with Lubaina Himid and her practice has been significant. In our first presentation of her work, a series of paintings and installations by Himid was included by Biennial curator Dr Omar Kholeif in Sharjah Biennial 14:

Leaving the Echo Chamber (2019). Over the years, the Foundation has acquired a number of the artist's signature paintings and installations, including Bone in the China: Success to the Africa Trade (1985) and Leave to Cool (2021). Making visible the histories and memories that were systematically overlooked by western culture, her works have proven a significant contribution to the Foundation's evolving Collection and its mission to contextualise the history of art from an alternative view.

It was also my great pleasure to invite Himid to realise a new commission for Sharjah Biennial 15: Thinking Historically in the Present (2023), a milestone edition celebrating the Biennial's 30th anniversary. For this commission, Himid took over a selection of shop fronts across the Emirate of Sharjah, creating portals to alternative worlds.

Titled Dream Boats (2023), the work took the form of back-lit street signs fusing painting, text and Sharjah's vernacular design, which became part of Sharjah's cartography. We are grateful to the artist for gifting these important works to our Collection.

Our dialogue with Himid continues through Plaited Time / Deep Water, a two-person survey conceived in collaboration with the artist Magda Stawarska. Anchored around Himid's and Stawarska's reimagining of the seminal installation Zanzibar (1999-2023), the exhibition consists of commissioned works as well as historic examples from the artists' practice. The show unfolds across the courtyards and galleries of Al Mureijah Square to explore journeys of return and longing, while rooting itself in Sharjah's rich topography, architecture and proximity to the sea.

It is an honour for Sharjah Art Foundation to be able to present the first institutional exhibition of Lubaina Himid and Magda Stawarska in the Afro-Asian region. This debut showcase of the duo's collaborative practice marks another significant moment in our ongoing conversations with these remarkable artists. We are indebted to Hollybush Gardens, London, for working closely with us to realise every detail as well as members of the Lubaina Himid Studio team. My deep appreciation goes to curator Omar Kholeif and the Foundation's team for their dedication and expertise. I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to the artists Himid and Stawarska for their tireless efforts in creating such a thought-provoking exhibition."