By Martin Macdonald
Organised by the Sharjah Art Foundation with Eungie Joo in the role of Curator and Ryan Inouye as Associate Curator, the
Sharjah Biennial 12: The past, the present, the possible explores the idea of what is possible through art. In other words, the current edition, held in and around the UAE city of Sharjah as well
as the seaside town of Kalba, considers new possibilities for social organisation and ways to transcend cultural and political boundaries. Fifty artists from over 25 countries have been selected to participate in the event and two-thirds of these present new works and commissions. The biennial runs from 5 March - 5 June 2015.
Editor's Picks:
Adrián Villar Rojas - Asunción Molinos Gordo - Damián Ortega - Rirkrit Tiravanija - Saloua Raouda Choucair - Leonor Antunes - Abdullah Al Saadi - Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme - Abraham Cruzvillegas - Haegue Yang - Rayyane Tabet - Julie Mehretu
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Adrián Villar Rojas. Planetarium,
2015. Site-specific installation. Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation. Courtesy
kurimanzutto, Mexico City; Marian Goodman Gallery, New York; and the artist.
Kalba Ice Factory, Sharjah Biennial 12. Photo: Jörg Baumann. © 2015 baumann
fotografie frankfurt a.m.
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| Adrián Villar Rojas. Planetarium,
2015. Site-specific installation. Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation. Courtesy
kurimanzutto, Mexico City; Marian Goodman Gallery, New York; and the artist.
Kalba Ice Factory, Sharjah Biennial 12. Photo: Jörg Baumann. © 2015 baumann
fotografie frankfurt a.m. |
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| Adrián Villar Rojas. Planetarium,
2015. Site-specific installation. Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation. Courtesy
kurimanzutto, Mexico City; Marian Goodman Gallery, New York; and the artist.
Kalba Ice Factory, Sharjah Biennial 12. Photo: Jörg Baumann. © 2015 baumann
fotografie frankfurt a.m. |
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Asunción
Molinos Gordo, WAM (World Agriculture Museum), 2010/2015. Mixed-media
installation. Dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist
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| Asunción
Molinos Gordo, WAM (World Agriculture Museum), 2010/2015. Mixed-media
installation. Dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist |
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| Asunción
Molinos Gordo, WAM (World Agriculture Museum), 2010/2015. Mixed-media
installation. Dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist |
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Damián Ortega, Talking
Wall, 2015. Wooden cast, clay, sand, gravel, hay, rocks, Styrofoam ear
pieces and flexible PVC pipes. Dimensions variable. Commissioned by Sharjah Art
Foundation. Courtesy kurimanzutto, Mexico City and the artist. Installation
view, Sharjah Biennial 12. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo by
Alfredo Rubio
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| Damián Ortega, Talking
Wall, 2015. Wooden cast, clay, sand, gravel, hay, rocks, Styrofoam ear
pieces and flexible PVC pipes. Dimensions variable. Commissioned by Sharjah Art
Foundation. Courtesy kurimanzutto, Mexico City and the artist. Installation
view, Sharjah Biennial 12. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo by
Alfredo Rubio |
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Rirkrit Tiravanija, untitled 2015 (Eau
de RRose of Damascus). Mixed-media installation. Commissioned by Sharjah
Art Foundation. Courtesy of the artist. Installation view, Sharjah Biennial 12.
Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo by Shanavas Jamaluddin
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Rirkrit Tiravanija, untitled 2015 (Eau
de RRose of Damascus). Mixed-media installation. Commissioned by Sharjah
Art Foundation. Courtesy of the artist. Installation view, Sharjah Biennial 12.
Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo by Shanavas Jamaluddin
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Saloua Raouda Choucair, various works. Courtesy Saloua
Raouda Choucair Foundation. Installation view, Sharjah Biennial 12. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art
Foundation. Photo by Alfredo Rubio
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Leonor
Antunes, The Unpredictability of Possible Future Uses, 2015. Leather,
hemp, brass, steel, electrical cables, lamps, concrete and teak.
Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation. Courtesy of the artist. Installation
view, Sharjah Biennial 12. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo by
Alfredo Rubio
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Leonor
Antunes, The Unpredictability of Possible Future Uses, 2015. Leather,
hemp, brass, steel, electrical cables, lamps, concrete and teak.
Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation. Courtesy of the artist. Installation
view, Sharjah Biennial 12. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo by
Alfredo Rubio
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Abdullah Al Saadi, Scarecrows,
2013, Mixed-media installation. Courtesy of the artist. Installation view,
Sharjah Biennial 12. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo by Alfredo
Rubio
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| Basel Abbas and Ruanne
Abou-Rahme, The Incidental Insurgents
(Parts 1–3), 2012–15. Mixed-media
installation, Partial commission by Sharjah Art Foundation. Courtesy
Carroll/Fletcher, London, and the artists. Installation view, Sharjah Biennial
12. Image courtesy of Sharjah
Art Foundation. Photo by Alfredo Rubio |
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Basel Abbas and Ruanne
Abou-Rahme, The Incidental Insurgents
(Parts 1–3), 2012–15. Mixed-media
installation, Partial commission by Sharjah Art Foundation. Courtesy
Carroll/Fletcher, London, and the artists. Installation view, Sharjah Biennial
12. Image courtesy of Sharjah
Art Foundation. Photo by Alfredo Rubio
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Abraham Cruzvillegas, Reconstrucción2: Here we stand, 2015. Installation
at the Animal and Bird Market in Sharjah. Commissioned by Sharjah Art
Foundation. Courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation © Photo: Deema Shahin
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| Haegue Yang, An Opaque Wind, 2015. Mixed-media installation.
Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation. Courtesy Galerie Chantal Crousel,
Paris; Greene Naftali,New York; Kukje Gallery, Seoul; Galerie Wien Lukatsch,
Berlin; and the artist. Installation view, Sharjah Biennial 12. Image courtesy
of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo by Deema Shahin
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Haegue
Yang, An Opaque Wind, 2015. Mixed-media installation. Commissioned by
Sharjah Art Foundation. Courtesy Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris; Greene
Naftali,New York; Kukje Gallery, Seoul; Galerie Wien Lukatsch, Berlin; and the
artist. Installation view, Sharjah Biennial 12 Image courtesy of Sharjah Art
Foundation. Photo by Deema Shahin
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Rayyane Tabet, Cyprus, 2015. Wooden boat, steel anchor, pulleys, rope
and hardware. Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation. Courtesy Sfeir-Semler
Gallery, Beirut and Hamburg, and the artist. Installation view, Sharjah
Biennial 12. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo by Alfredo Rubio.
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Julie
Mehretu, Works from the series Invisible Sun, 2014–15. Collection of
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark and private collection
Courtesy carlier|gebauer gallery, Berlin; Marian Goodman Gallery, New York; and
the artist. Installation view, Sharjah Biennial 12. Image courtesy of Sharjah
Art Foundation. Photo by Deema Shahin.
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